According to a report by Times of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his record during a stormy Knesset session, insisting that Israel is “making systematic progress toward achieving the goals of the war: the release of the hostages, the elimination of Hamas and the guarantee that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
Netanyahu hit back at critics, arguing that Israel is achieving its goals in Gaza through a “combination of political and military pressure.” He declared that despite claims from the Knesset and media that it is impossible to defeat Hamas, Israel is “on the way to absolute victory.”
“We are going to eliminate this neo-Nazi government in Gaza, to eliminate the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and we are progressing there step by step,” Netanyahu said. “We were told that Hamas will not agree to release hostages without us first agreeing to end the war. Suddenly it agrees. The more we persist in the pressure – it will give up more and more. And this is the only way to free” the hostages.
The Prime Minister’s comments come as the IDF has eliminated key Hamas commanders in Rafah, including Nidal Aleed, the head of Hamas’s Rafah Emergency Bureau, and other operatives responsible for coordinating Hamas activities in the region. Israel has also established “operational control” over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, a strategic area long used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and fighters….Seë_Morë