Israel says most Hamas battalions in Gaza have been 'destroyed'
(Baonghean.vn) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli army has destroyed 19 of Hamas' 24 regional battalions in Gaza in the past six months.
In a statement before a cabinet meeting last weekend, marking six months since the start of the war in Gaza, Mr Netanyahu said Israel was “one step away from victory”.
“Today we mark six months since the war began… We have destroyed 19 of the 24 Hamas battalions, including their senior commanders. We have killed, wounded or captured a significant number of Hamas terrorists… We have destroyed their missile, weapons and ammunition factories.”
The conflict began on October 7 last year with a surprise Hamas raid that claimed the lives of some 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages. Prime Minister Netanyahu quickly declared war on the militant group, vowing to destroy it. As a result, due to the population density in Gaza, more than 33,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel's assault on the enclave in the months that followed, with much of the area leveled.
In his statement, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel must continue fighting until all Hamas militants are eliminated. He noted that Hamas still holds 133 Israeli citizens hostage and stressed that there would be no talks on a ceasefire until all of them are released.
“There is no just war like this one and we are determined to end it with total victory. To release all those kidnapped, to complete the destruction of Hamas in the entire Gaza Strip, including Rafah, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel,” he said. Israeli and Hamas delegations held ceasefire talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar on Sunday in Cairo.
According to a report on Al Arabiya television, Hamas’ demands include Israel abandoning its plans to suppress and remove its leaders once the fighting in Gaza ends, as well as a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu called the demands “extreme” and said Israel would not “surrender to them” because, he said, Hamas could “endanger our citizens and soldiers” in the future.
Netanyahu's refusal to reach a deal with Hamas and thus secure the release of the hostages has caused discontent in Israeli society. Tens of thousands of protesters held a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand Netanyahu step down and reach a deal with Palestinian militants.
