Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Iran and Hezbollah as he confirmed that the Gaza war could continue for months and said there was possible movement on proposal to secure the release of additional hostages.
“We see a possibility, maybe for movement,” Netanyahu said, adding that a strong military campaign in Gaza was the best pressure point for such an agreement.
“On the northern border, we are landing heavy blows against Hezbollah, eliminating many terrorists and destroying the enemy’s capabilities,” Netanyahu said in a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
He spoke as Israel continued its military operation to destroy Hamas in Gaza, even as it thwarted Hezbollah violence along its northern border, working to prevent the situation from escalating into a full-fledged war.
Netanyahu said diplomacy was the best option to restore security to that border but noted that Israel would not hesitate to act against the Iranian proxy group should those options fail.
“We approved operational plans for the continuation of the fighting. If Hezbollah expands the war, it will receive blows it never dreamed of – and so will Iran. We will act in any way until we restore security to the residents of the North,” Netanyahu stated.
“Iran leads the axis of evil and aggression against us on the various fronts,” the prime minister stated.
“This aggression is directed not only against Israel but against the entire free world. We act against Iran all the time, everywhere, in every way,” he said, as he declined to provide details to back up his statement.
Netanyahu reaffirms intent to prevent a nuclear Iran
Netanyahu also underscored the importance of preventing a nuclear Iran, as the Islamic Republic continues to inch closer to weapons-grade uranium enrichment.
“Everyone understands today that the threat from Iran will increase dozens of times if Iran has nuclear weapons. And so the goal that I have been working for many years… remains the same: to do anything – anything – to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” he said.
The prime minister also spoke about the importance of an international coalition to thwart the Yemen-based Houthi threat against shipping routes in the Red Sea. Israel has warned that Iran is behind those attacks.
“I talked with many leaders about the need to establish an international coalition to maintain the freedom of international navigation,” he stated.
Concerning Gaza, Netanyahu said that the war would continue until Israel’s two primary goals were completed: “the elimination of Hamas and the release of all our hostages.”
“As prime minister, I have pushed back against international pressures aimed at stopping the war before we achieved these goals,” he said.
Netanyahu noted that he appreciated the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas, both in its actions at the United Nations and in its approval over the weekend of additional military supplies for the IDF.
Netanyahu: We have not given up, not for a moment, on return of hostages
Concerning the hostages, he stated, “We have not given up, not for a moment, our efforts to bring our captives home – even in these moments.”
He spoke amid reports on KAN News that the war cabinet had permitted Mossad Chief David Barnea to work with Qatar on a deal it was attempting to mediate that would include a pause of several weeks to the war in exchange for the release of additional hostages, likely women, children and the elderly.
Hamas had been insisting on a permanent ceasefire for any hostage deal, but Israeli is now estimating that it would be willing to move forward on a partial deal.
There are 129 hostages held in Gaza out of some 250 that Hamas and other terrorists seized from southern Israel on October 7. Some 1,200 people were killed in that Hamas-led attack.
There are 110 hostages who have already been freed. Another eight were found dead and another three were mistakenly killed by the IDF.
Netanyahu told reporters that Hamas had put forward all kinds of ultimatums that have been rejected and that there was now a possible flexibility, but that he didn’t want to raise false hopes.
In its war against Hamas, the IDF has “so far eliminated over 8,000 terrorists – and every day of fighting we eliminate many more terrorists,” the prime minister said. “Step by step, we are depriving Hamas of its capabilities. We are hitting the top officials – and we will also eliminate Hamas leaders. Hamas will be defeated.”
It’s important, Netanyahu said, for Israel to ensure that Hamas cannot continue to pose a threat to it. To that end, he said, Israel has no intention of giving up the Philadelphi Corridor, which is a buffer zone by Gaza’s border with Egypt. This “must remain” in Israel’s hands, he emphasized.
Netanyahu, in response to reporters’ questions, the premier rejected any suggestion that he had weakened Israel’s security while in office or that he would consider resigning.
“The only thing I plan to relieve myself of is Hamas: I am not relieving myself of anything else,” he stated. Destroying Hamas “is what I am focused on – and not anything else.”
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