Israeli army continues war until Hamas's destruction - Minister of Defense

"There is no one to help the terrorists, it’s only a matter of our decision of what we take care of first and what second. We will not end this war without eliminating Hamas," the Israeli Defense Minister stated.

Galant, speaking at a meeting with soldiers of the 98th Division of the Israel Defense Forces, noted that there can be no other development of the situation in the region. According to him, in the future, there will be no Hamas as a ruling organization, but this will take some time.

Israel-Hamas war

In early October 2023, militants of the radical Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip. According to official data, in the first days of the attacks, militants killed 1,200 civilians and soldiers and also kidnapped about 250 people.

At the end of October, the Israel Defense Forces launched a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip, which is ongoing. The country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the goal of the operation is the destruction of Hamas and the release of hostages.

In early February, the Israeli Prime Minister announced the readiness of the IDF to begin a ground invasion of the city of Rafah near the border with Egypt in the south of the Gaza Strip. Cairo, in turn, threatened to terminate a key peace treaty with Tel Aviv if the Israeli army entered Rafah.

The latest ceasefire talks failed after the Israeli Prime Minister rejected Hamas's proposal for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire, which was supposed to end with the withdrawal of Israeli Forces.

Yesterday, March 3, it became known that Israel and Hamas were not able to reach an agreement on a hostage release deal again. Tel Aviv remained dissatisfied with the Islamist movement's response.