Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagaristated on Wednesday that the Hamas terrorist group, against which it fights in Gaza, could not be eliminated, prompting an immediate reaction from the government, which reiterated its commitment to destroying it.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza Stripwhich began after the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, failed to extirpate the terrorist group from the territory.
“Hamas is an ideology, we cannot eliminate an ideology. “To say that we are going to make Hamas disappear is to throw sand in people’s eyes,” Rear Admiral Hagari told the Israeli radio station. Channel 13.
“If we do not offer an alternative, in the end, we will have Hamas” in power in Gaza, Hagari added, at a time when the Israeli government is divided over the future of the Strip once the war ends.
His comments were quickly refuted by the Israeli prime minister’s office, Benjamin Netanyahuwhose cabinet has declared that its Gaza offensive will not end until Hamas is defeated.
“The political and security cabinet headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu defined the destruction of the military and government capabilities of Hamas as one of the objectives of the war,” he said in a statement.
“The IDF [Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel, el ejército] They are, of course, committed to it,” he added.
The army issued another statement in which it stressed that Hagari spoke “of the destruction of Hamas as an ideology and idea”.
His words were “clear and explicit,” he said. “Any other statement would be taking things out of context,” she insisted.
On the other hand, the prime minister sent a warning message to his government partners on Wednesday and asked them for unity in the face of the challenges of the war in Gaza and the escalation of tension with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon.
“We are at war on several fronts, and we face great challenges“said the president in a video message, after Parliament failed to pass a law to boost the power of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel (the highest religious authority in the country) to elect municipal rabbis.
Netanyahu’s last-minute decision not to put the project to a vote due to lack of support sparked criticism from one of the coalition’s key partners, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Aryeh Deriwho, apparently, has threatened to leave the Executive if the rule is not approved.
The episode is one more example of the internal disputes that have marked the legislature, in constant tension due to the demands of the different parties in the coalition (two ultra-Orthodox and two far-right, in addition to the prime minister’s Likud).
The Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Haleviassured today that the armed forces have “strong capabilities that the enemy only partially knows,” in response to the video published by the Hezbollah terrorist group in which it showed images of Israeli territory captured by a drone that had flown over northern Israel.
“They will meet them when necessary, at the right time,” Halevi added today during a visit to the air defense batteries along the border.
This afternoon, the armed forces launched attacks against Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in different areas of southern Lebanon, such as Al Adisa and Aita al Shaab.
Added to these bombings were those launched against Yanoun and Khiam early in the morning, to which the militia, backed by Iran, responded by launching 15 rockets against the Kiryat Shmona area, about four kilometers from the divide, although most were intercepted.
The war broke out on October 7, when Hamas killed 1,194 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251 in southern Israel, according to a count by the AFP based on official Israeli data.
The Israeli army estimates that 116 people remain kidnapped in Gaza, 41 of whom have died.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has already left at least 37,396 dead in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, governed by Hamas.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
