"Given Hamas's refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas." Benjamin Netanyahu said this to foreign press correspondents as he outlined his new operational plan for expanding military operations in the Gaza Strip. The main governments have expressed their opposition to the occupation of the enclave, so the prime minister has decided to explain his point of view to the international media. And the message could not be clearer:"We will win the war, with or without the support of others."
“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to liberate Gaza, to liberate it from Hamas terrorists,” who “still number in the thousands” and can repeat the atrocities of October 7,” the prime minister explained in his Jerusalem office, summarizing the main points of his “ post-war plan ”: the Strip “will be demilitarized. Israel will have primary responsibility for security. A security zone will be established on the border between Gaza and Israel to prevent future terrorist incursions. A civil administration will be established in Gaza that will seek to live in peace with Israel.” “Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it quickly.”
The speed of the operations is one of the concepts Netanyahu insists on."The timetable we have established for the intervention is quite rapid," Netanyahu said in response to a question about the expected timeframe for implementing the plan."We want, first of all, to enable the establishment of safe zones and the establishment of facilities, so that the civilian population of Gaza City can leave." When Israel took control of Rafah, it took"about eight or six days" to evacuate Gaza's civilians, so"we think we can achieve a similar result." This assessment does not align with those made by the Israel Defense Forces, according to which taking control of new areas of the Strip could take several months .
Going into the strategy behind the plan, Netanyahu explained: “Approximately 70-75% of the Gaza Strip is under Israeli military control. But two Hamas strongholds still exist. These are Gaza City and the Al Mawasi camps (the current humanitarian zone in the central Gaza Strip).” The IDF has been ordered to “dismantle the two strongholds.” Tel Aviv will begin the plan by “first allowing the civilian population to safely leave the combat zones and reach designated safe zones. In these safe zones, they will receive abundant food, water, and medical care.” At this moment,"the only ones who are deliberately starving to death are our hostages," the prime minister said, showing a photo of the significantly emaciated hostage, Evyatar David."The international media believed all of Hamas's claims, including the lies," he added.
Regarding concerns about the humanitarian situation, Netanyahu said: “Our policy throughout the war was to prevent a humanitarian crisis, while Hamas’s policy was to create one.” In this context, Israel allowed sufficient aid to arrive throughout the war, while Hamas cut off the flow of aid and the United Nations failed to distribute it properly.
