Netanyahu: Hamas army will soon no longer exist
At the terrorist attack by the Islamic Hamas and other groups on October 7, there were more victims in Israel than ever since the state was founded. Netanyahu announced revenge - and the destruction of Hamas. This goal and thus the end of the offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to the prime minister, is near.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the main phase of the war against the Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip approaching a swift conclusion. "We are moving towards the end of the phase of destroying the terror army of Hamas," he said in Jerusalem during a reception for cadets of the National Defense Academy. "We will continue to combat their remnants."
Netanyahu had previously visited the Gaza Division, which is currently in action in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. He saw "significant progress" there, he said. The offensive in Rafah along the border with Egypt is aimed at the destruction of the last major combat formations of Hamas. However, the Islamic militia remains militarily active in smaller groups.
The words of the Israeli prime minister indicate that the large-scale ground offensive of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip may soon come to an end. This had started three weeks after the unprecedented massacre committed by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in southern Israel, which resulted in over 1200 deaths on the Israeli side and triggered the Gaza War, which Israel initially launched with massive air raids.
The end of the ground offensive would not necessarily mean an end to Israel's military engagement in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu and high-ranking military officials have often emphasized that Israeli troops would remain in strategic locations in the fortified coastal area after the phase of intense fighting. Among other things, this includes the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer long, narrow strip that runs along the Gaza Strip on the Egyptian side of the border at Rafah.
After declaring significant progress in the Israeli army's offensive against Hamas in Rafah, Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at the approach of wrapping up the main phase of the Israel war in Gaza. However, he stressed that Israel would continue to combat Hamas' remnants, as smaller groups of the Islamic militia remain active.
