Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that Israel is in a battle for its existence and that the goal is saving the nation. He also promised that a ground incursion to destroy Hamas in Gaza is coming.
“Israel is in the midst of a fight for our existence,” Netanyahu said in his address to the nation, adding that the war’s two aims are “to eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governance capabilities, and to do everything possible to get our hostages back.”
“All Hamas members are dead men walking — above and below ground, inside and outside Gaza,” he said. “Together with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, the security cabinet, the chief of staff and heads of the security organizations, we are working around the clock in order to achieve the war aims until victory, and doing so without political considerations.”
He said Israel is getting ready for a ground operation, but will not share when or how. “We are preparing for a ground incursion. I won’t specify when, how, how many. I also won’t detail the range of considerations, most of which the public is not aware of. And that’s the way it is supposed to be. This is the way, so that we protect our soldiers’ lives,” the PM said.
“The timing of the operation was determined unanimously by the war cabinet and the chief of staff,” Netanyahu added.
“We will extract the full price from those murderers, those perpetrators of atrocities… from Hamas-Daesh,” he said.
Netanyahu also called on Gazan noncombatants to head to southern Gaza.
