Today (Monday), Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu surveyed the fighting in the south at the government meeting, stating that the ground maneuver created possibilities for freeing the hostages.
Netanyahu began by noting the three stages of fighting: “We are in the midst of the war. We have set a clear goal of destroying the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas. We are doing these things systematically. First of all, the blocking stage has ended.”
“The second stage, pounding from the air which continues all the time. The third stage, the IDF has expanded its ground entry into the Gaza Strip, it does so in measured steps, very powerful, continuing systematically step by step.”
Netanyahu on Hezbollah: “If you intervene, you will be hit with a blow you cannot imagine”
The Prime Minister expressed his confidence in the professional ranks: “I have to say we put full faith in them – both in the method and in the leadership under the Chief of Staff, and we do this – the whole nation and the whole leadership of the nation. There will also be continued steps, we cannot list them here, but we talk about them within the war cabinet.”
The Prime Minister also addressed the northern sector in South Lebanon and sent a threatening message to Hezbollah: “We are also working to actively deter the northern front, and I say again to Hezbollah – you will make the mistake of your life if you decide to fully intervene in the war. You will be hit with a blow you cannot even imagine.”
At this point, Netanyahu moved on to talk about the issue of the captives, noting that efforts continue as the ground manuever continues. “The manuever even creates possibilities of achieving release and we will not miss them.”
According to him, “this war will take time, there will be pitfalls, there will be difficulties, there will be losses, there will also be surprises, but in the end I promise you one thing: Hamas will be defeated root and branch. Hamas will be defeated, there will be another Gaza.”
“We are coordinating humanitarian aid with the Americans”
The Prime Minister described the relationship with the American government and addressed the issue of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. “To this end we need patience, we need time. To create the time, we need to ensure political support,” he said.
He added that “I am in daily contact with the American President. Our team talks with their counterparts all the time. We make it clear that we’re not just fighting our war, but also their war, because if Hamas is not defeated, then the axis of evil will win, and if the axis of evil wins, the free world loses.”
“The second effort is a humanitarian effort. Both because it is essentially right, and also because it’s right in terms of aiding our forces. We are trying to move the population to the southern Strip, we made a ‘safe zone’ there, where we want to channel the humanitarian aid. We do this and also coordinate it with our American friends. This is also a process which takes time.”
Netanyahu ended by addressing the importance of the economic issue and its consequences in light of the war. “The third effort is the economic effort, I know you ministers are doing a great deal of work. We will have to do much more, it will cost a lot of money and this is a secondary consideration in our eyes. We will do what we need, we will do more, and it’s important that you also present the things you do to the public in an organized fashion.”