Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that victory against Hamas in Gaza is “within reach.”
Created by Netanyahu The statement during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. He said Israeli forces had defeated Hamas in its last stronghold in Gaza and argued that the campaign must continue to deliver the final blow.
“Victory is within reach,” Netanyahu said. “We have already destroyed three-quarters of Hamas’ organized terrorist battalions.” Three quarters, 18 out of 24 – we won’t miss the other six. It would be like leaving a quarter of ISIS in place in Iraq. You say, ‘Well they can have their own little area. it’s fine.’
“Obviously, ISIS will re-establish itself. Hamas-ISIS will also re-establish itself, if we don’t eliminate its last stronghold,” he added. .
UN chief breaks silence on sexual violence by Hamas terrorists, agrees to probe October 7 attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said victory over Hamas in Gaza was “within reach” on Sunday. (Fox News/Hannity)
Bream asked Netanyahu about recent comments President Biden which appeared to be critical of Israeli operations in Gaza. “The conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been top notch,” Biden said Thursday.
Netanyahu told Bream that he was not sure what Biden meant by the statement, adding that he had not spoken to Biden since he made the comment.
He listed the various efforts being made by the Israeli forces to reduce the loss of civilian lives in Gaza.
Fighting in Gaza remains fierce in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where top Hamas leaders are believed to be hiding in a network of tunnels.
Israeli Defense Forces troops cross the Gaza war zone with dogs from the Okitz unit. (IDF Interpreter Unit)
Netanyahu has said that Israeli forces will remain in Gaza for a long time after the war, another rub for the Biden administration. Biden has argued that occupying Gaza after the war would be a “mistake” and urged Netanyahu to A two-state solution
UN chief breaks silence on sexual violence by Hamas terrorists, agrees to probe October 7 attack
“The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas,” Biden wrote in a November 2023 Washington Post poll.
Netanyahu says Israel’s war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is completely ousted. (Mahmoud Homs/AFP via Getty Images)
Critics say the two-state solution is currently unrealistic. Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman says the Palestinians are “unwilling” to recognize a Jewish state, adding that any Palestinian state is highly likely to become a terrorist state.
“I do not think a two-state solution is possible, and even if it were possible, it would not be appropriate. For more than 50 years, hundreds of self-proclaimed ‘peacemakers’ led by the United States have tried to pressure Israel. And lead the Palestinians to a two-state solution,” he said. “Efforts fail time and time again regardless of who is in charge.”