Netanyahu: You Can’t Support Eliminating Hamas And Call On Us To End The War

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — As international pressure on Israel to reach a ceasefire grows, and as reports state that US president Biden and his team want to avoid harming the president’s image during his election campaign and are pushing Israel to wrap the war up in a matter of weeks, Prime Minister Netanyahu responded in a cabinet meeting to the US initiatives.

“The fighting in the Gaza Strip continues with greater intensity to achieve all its goals – the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and the promise that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu stated.

He also delivered a message to the US administration. “In the last two days, I spoke with German Chancellor Scholz, with French President Macron and with other leaders, and I told them that it is impossible to support the elimination of Hamas with one hand and pressure us to end the war with the other hand. Justice is on our side.”

Israeli officials expect the war with Hamas to last up to another two months at its current intensity, according to a Kan news report Sunday.

Officials stated that there will be no ceasefire at the end of these two months, but more targeted operations by the forces that will remain in the Gaza Strip.

The officials also stated that Israel will soon attempt to broker additional deals to release more of the 138 hostages still being held captive in Gaza.

At some point during the next two months, Israel will begin allowing some of the residents of Gaza to return to the homes which they evacuated to escape from the fighting. This was demanded by the Biden administration, but may also make the IDF’s job in Gaza easier by removing civilians from the current battlezones.

National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi on Saturday night spoke with “Meet the Press” and said that he is optimistic about the results of the war against Hamas.

Regarding how Israel perceived the security situation prior to October 7, he said, “We were thinking in the terms of rational people – we needed to think like ISIS.”

“If we kill [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, it could be that the leadership which replaces him will understand that it needs to get out of Gaza with its tail between its legs and save its life.”

According to him, killing Sinwar is the key to achieving the goals of the war, which are destroying Hamas and releasing the captives.

When asked about the possibility of intelligence which states that Sinwar is near the hostages, and a decision must be made as to whether to attack the site, Hanegbi said, “This is a situation which we may find ourselves in, and it is a heartbreaking dilemma – but it means that we have reached him, and that means we’ve done an enormous part of it. At the end of the day, we will have to make decisions.”