Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the IDF strike that killed 45 Palestinian civilians in Gaza a “tragic mistake” as he vowed never to wave the white flag of defeat as he rejected domestic and international calls to end the war.
“Those who say they are exhausted that they are not ready or can not withstand the pressure,” Netanyahu told the Knesset plenum on Monday, “should hold up the white flag of defeat. I will not wave that kind of flag. I will continue to fight until we wave the flag of victory,” he stated.
In a brief but rousing speech delivered as the international community increasingly believes that Hamas can not be defeated militarily, Netanyahu vowed to battle on.
His address was frequently interrupted by heckling from the gallery where relatives of the remaining 125 hostages, who shouted at him, “bring them home now.”
They held up a large poster of the five young female observers held captive in Gaza, which had the slogan written on it, “Look them in the eye.”
Calls for resignation
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) called on Netanyahu to resign, due to his failed policies, primarily the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, in which over 1,200 people were killed and another 252 were seized as hostages.
“Mr. Prime Minister, why are you still here [in office]?” Lapid said during the 40-signature debate which he initiated.
“In what world does the prime minister who is responsible for [October 7] the greatest disaster that has happened to the Jewish people since the Holocaust remain prime minister? In what world do you not come before the plenum, ask for forgiveness from the people of Israel… – and go home?”
But when the plenum was asked to vote, 50 of the 120 Knesset members voted to support Netanyahu’s policies, while only 39 backed Lapid’s call for him to quit.
Netanyahu defended his efforts to secure the release of the hostages. Although he was able to free 105 of the captives during a deal in November, a second deal has eluded him.
A negotiation process, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, has dragged on, without any visible sign of a possible deal, even as high-level talks were held, including in Paris over the weekend between Mossad Chief David Barnea, CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Thani.
Netanyahu pushed back at accusations that he has not empowered the negotiating team and that he has preferred to wage an unwinnable war rather than make a deal to return the hostages.
“I completely reject the abominable lie, that I do not give the negotiating team the mandate when asked, and do not respond to its requests,” he said.
“From the end of December and until now, I received five requests from the negotiating team to expand the mandate, to allow flexible terms, and I authorized all of them,” Netanyahu explained.
He blamed the absence of a deal on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, stressing that he was the “obstacle” to a deal.
Night after night television studies repeat false claims and spin about the talks that only harm the families and give Sinwar an excuse not to make a deal, Netanyahu explained.
The pressure that should be directed to Sinwar “in whose basements the hostages are kept” is instead being leveled at “the Israeli government.”
“Israel is repeatedly asked to make more concessions and more concessions So why should Sinwar get stressed? He is sitting in his bunker, rubbing his hands with pleasure, and is happy that others are doing the work for him,” Netanyahu said.
“The pressure directed from home and abroad towards the Israeli government, which is fighting with all its might to return the hostages, only hardens the positions of Sinwar, who demands from Israel surrender conditions that endanger its existence, and therefore we cannot agree to them,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister also spoke of the importance of continuing the Rafah operation, a military campaign that has drawn global condemnation, with the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to halt any military campaign that would destroy the Palestinian group, in whole or in part.
The IDF has focused on targeted strikes, killing two high-level Hamas operatives on Sunday night, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. The strike, however, set off an explosion into a nearby safe zone for civilians, in which 45 civilians were killed and scores of others were wounded.
Netanyahu in describing the incident said, “Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved, unfortunately, a tragic mistake happened last night. We are investigating the incident, we will draw conclusions because this is our policy.”
He stressed that separately the IDF had managed to safely evacuate over a million civilians from Gaza.He urged the Israeli public not to listen to the pundits, former politicians, and generals, who painted a false picture of defeat
“I hear in the studio the voices of despondency… that say it’s impossible to win.”
These voices note the pressure against Israel from the “international community [and] America,” Netanyahu said, as he stressed that he did not plan to be constrained by the global community.
“Citizens of Israel, if you want weakness, despondency, surrender – listen to the studios. But if you want power, spirit, and victory – listen to the warriors.,” Netanyahu stated.
“The goals of the war, have not changed,” Netanyahu said.
“To be victorious over Hamas, return all the hostages, ensure that Gaza won’t pose a threat to Israel, and return the residents of the North safely to their homes.”
“These remain our objectives,” he added.
“If we surrender, we won’t get all our hostages back. If we surrender, we will give a great victory to terrorism, a great victory to Iran, to its axis of evil, and to all those seeking our destruction,” Netanyahu said.
“I am not ready to surrender and fold. I am not ready to end the war before all its objectives are completed. Our heroes did not die in vain.”
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