Israel’s PM Netanyahu Vows Total Victory Over Hamas Leaders
Statement by PM Netanyahu
13.07.2024
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, at his press conference in Tel Aviv:
“Dear citizens of Israel, good evening.
The State of Israel, via the IDF and the ISA, attacked a target in Gaza today in order to eliminate Muhammad Deif and his deputy Rafa’a Salameh. While there is no absolute certainty yet that they were eliminated, I would like to assure you that one way or another, we will reach the entire Hamas leadership.
Muhammad Deif is an arch-murderer, the Hamas Chief-of-Staff, the #2 in the chain of command. It was Deif who planned and led the October 7 massacre and many additional terrorist attacks. His hands are soaked in the blood of many Israelis.
At midnight last night, when the ISA Director presented me with the details of the operation, I wanted to know three things: First of all, I wanted to know that, according to the intelligence, there were no hostages around them. Second, I wanted to know the scope of the collateral damage. Third, I asked about the type of munitions.
When I received satisfactory answers, I approved the action and said, ‘May it be a great success.’ This success will rid the Middle East and the entire world of these arch-murderers.
This opportunity and others are made possible by excellent intelligence and operations work. They are also made possible for another reason – because we rejected the great internal and external pressure to end the war before achieving all of its objectives.
At the start of the war, I set a rule: The Hamas murderers are dead men walking, from the first of them to the last. We will settle accounts with them. The elimination of senior Hamas leaders advances the achievement of all of our objectives: The elimination of Hamas, the release of all of our hostages and the removal of future threats from Gaza against Israel. It also advances our objectives regarding other sectors because it sends a deterrent message to all of Iran’s proxies – and to Iran itself.
Citizens of Israel, since October 7, Israel has faced an existential threat: Not just the Iranian nuclear threat – which certainly exists, and we are determined to do everything in order to prevent Iran from arming itself with nuclear weapons – but also an additional threat. Iran seeks to strangle us in a chokehold of terrorism and missile fire, from Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, the militias in Syria, the militias in Iraq and from other sectors.
The victory over Hamas is a first and necessary condition in the victory over Iran’s axis – over the entire axis of evil. Therefore, we must not give up on victory.
Many of you are asking: ‘Then when will this war end?’ and my answer is clear and unequivocal: ‘It will end only when we achieve all of its goals, and not a moment before.’ Victory is not an empty word. Victory will be achieved when we eliminate the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, bring all of our hostages back home, ensure that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel, and return our residents in the south and the north securely to their homes. This is total victory. This is the victory that will restore Israeli deterrence and make it clear to all of our enemies that the price for harming us will be unbearable for them.
In recent weeks, we have identified clear cracks in Hamas under the power of the blows we are raining on them. We see changes. We see weakness. Today’s operation also contributes to this, whatever its results are. Hamas’s commanders are hiding in underground tunnels and are cut off from their forces in the field. The Gazan population understands more and more the magnitude of the disaster that Hamas has inflicted on it, which many of them supported. Today I heard a Gazan say on the Internet: ‘What are they doing to us? They are hiding near al-Mawasi, near the civilian population.’ This is how their leadership operates.
There is a change. We will continue to strike the terrorists with unprecedented power until they are completely defeated. Our forces are advancing determinedly all across Gaza – in Rafah, Khan Yunis, Shejaiya and the Philadelphi Corridor. We are reaching every place from which terrorists set out on October 7. We will reach them. We are fighting and we will win.
Citizens of Israel, 120 of our brothers and sisters are still being held hostage by Hamas. They are our chief concern always and in every decision we make. We have a moral commitment to bring them all back home. As of now, we have returned 135 hostages thanks to a combination of military pressure and a determined diplomatic stand. Only by continuing this double pressure will we achieve the release of the remaining hostages.
Now I would like to clarify something and it contradicts the endless briefings by anonymous sources. I say this: I will not budge a millimeter from the outline that US President Biden has welcomed. I will not add conditions and I will not take away conditions. But you should know that neither will I let Hamas budge a millimeter from it Hamas has sought to add 29 changes to the outline. I told both the negotiating team and the Americans: Not even one change.
And in the framework of this outline, which President Biden has welcomed, I have insisted on four basic conditions, which exist in the outline: First, I insist on our right to continue the war until all of our objectives have been achieved. Second, I insist on preventing the smuggling of weapons to Hamas via Egypt. This requires our continued control of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing. Third, I insist on preventing the return of armed terrorists and war materiel to the northern Gaza Strip. Fourth, I insist that we return as many living hostages as possible in the first stage of the outline.
I appeal to you, families of the dear hostages: I know how much you are suffering from uncertainty but I would like to tell you one thing that is certain: We will not give up on anyone and we will do everything to return them all. If we stand steadfast on these principles, we will achieve an agreement that will both free the hostages – the living and the deceased – and allow us to continue the war until victory.
On the northern front as well, our position is clear: Whoever attacks us – will pay the price. I appeal to our dear residents of the north: I am aware of the great difficulty you face. I appreciate and esteem your steadfast stand. We are not prepared to accept the situation that has been created in the north. We will work to return you to your homes with full security one way or another. We are committed and determined to change the security reality in the north not just for a few days or months – but for generations, and this is what we will do.
Citizens of Israel, this war has exacted heavy costs from us. There is still a way to go to victory. More days of fighting and difficulty await us. But I promise you: With unity, determination and faith in the justice of our cause – we will fight, and with G-d’s help, we will also win.”
