Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening said that Israel will maintain its policy of exerting maximum military pressure on Hamas in order to secure the return of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and achieve a decisive victory over the terrorist group.
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"Military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for achieving victory. Only military pressure will lead to the release of all our captives. Without it, we have nothing," he said during a joint televised press conference alongside Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz
(Photo: Noam Revkin-Fenton)
Netanyahu also addressed the fatal shooting of three Israeli hostages who were mistaken for terrorists on Friday by Israeli forces engaged in intensive combat in the Hamas stronghold of Shijaiyah.
"Since the tragedy yesterday, one thought has been haunting me - what if things had unfolded differently? We were so close to embracing them now, but sadly, time cannot be turned back," he said. "Anyone who has fought on the battlefield knows that the line between victory and disaster is as thin as a hair. We will implement the lessons learned, and will not relent in our military and diplomatic efforts to bring the hostages back home safely."
Netanyahu reaffirmed his view that the ongoing war in Gaza is a matter of existential importance for Israel.
"In this war, we must continue until victory, despite international pressures and despite the heavy toll the war takes on us," he said.
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Hostages killed in friendly fire incident in Gaza: Samer Talalka, Alon Shamriz and Yotam Haim
The prime minister added that he expressed this very sentiment during his meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan who visited Israel over the weekend.
"I reiterate to our friends – we are more determined than ever to continue until the end, until Hamas is eliminated, until all our captives are returned and until we ensure that in Gaza there will be no entity that fosters or dispatches terror,” he said, adding that emphasized his opposition to the Palestinian Authority taking charge of Gaza after the war.
Speaking after him, Defense Minister Gallant said that the accidental killing of the hostages was "one of the most tragic and difficult events" he remembers, adding that after the IDF completed a preliminary investigation, its findings were passed to commanders to study, convey to soldiers and implement promptly.
Echoing the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi's earlier remarks, Gallant emphasized the complexity of the fighting in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, including deceptive tactics by Hamas terrorists, such as using booby-trapped mannequins and recordings of baby cries to lure soldiers.
"The cost of war is heavy," Gallant said. "We pay it every day, but when you know what you are aiming for, when you know you are fighting for a just cause, when you know you are fighting for a worthy goal, we must pay the price. And we are prepared to do so until we achieve complete success in this war – the elimination of Hamas' military and governmental capacity and the return of all hostages to their homes and families."
Gallant stressed the importance of the ongoing ground operations in Gaza to advancing efforts to bring hostages home, asserting that "If we had just stayed on the fence, nothing would have happened. We could have waited for months, and none of the hostages would have returned, and we would have lost everything we could have achieved."
Minister Gantz said that the ongoing war in Gaza is difficult, complex and painful, and it is the responsibility of the political leadership to continue leading the battle and do everything to bring the hostages home.
"This is not the time for grand words, but for action," said Gantz. "The fight will be prolonged, we need to achieve our objectives, and we must prioritize the return of the hostages."