Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement to the media this evening (Tuesday) in which he addressed Israel's return to fighting in Gaza after Hamas rejected all offers to release the hostages.
Netanyahu said: "For long weeks we have worked tirelessly to achieve one goal: to exhaust our efforts to return our hostages.
We extended the ceasefire for weeks when we didn't receive any hostages. We sent delegations to Doha. We sent delegations to Cairo. We made proposals together with the mediators. We accepted the proposal of the American envoy, Witkoff.
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In contrast, Hamas has rejected every offer time and time again. And I have made a commitment to you many times - if Hamas persists in its refusal and does not release our hostages, we will return to fighting.
And indeed, we are back to fighting – back to fighting with force. Together with the Minister of Defense, I received the recommendation of the IDF and security officials to return to intense fighting against Hamas. From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing force. And from now on, negotiations will only take place under fire.
"Hamas has already felt the comfort of our arm in the last 24 hours. And I want to assure you: this is just the beginning. We will continue to fight to achieve all the goals of the war - the release of all our hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.".
He expressed solidarity with the families of the kidnapped and promised that Israel would work tirelessly to return their loved ones: "My heart, the heart of all of us, is with the kidnapped and their families. They are going through an inhuman nightmare every day and every minute. I turn to the families and say: Our commitment and that of the security forces is to work tirelessly to free your loved ones, ours, both the living and the dead.".
The prime minister attacked media sources who he claims are spreading false information: "I hear the commentators who report lies in the studios, as if the IDF recommendation and the IDF's actions stem from political considerations. They have no shame. They have no red lines. They simply echo Hamas propaganda time and time again. So I want to say to Hamas: Don't rely on this. Because nothing will stop us from achieving all the goals of the war.".
The Prime Minister also addressed the broader arena: "Together, we have achieved historic achievements to date. Together, we are changing the face of the Middle East. But there are also major challenges that still lie ahead of us: first of all in Gaza. It has already been proven in the two previous liberation phases in which we released 196 of our hostages: military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of additional hostages. The military strike on Hamas and the release of our hostages are not contradictory goals - they are goals that are intertwined with each other.
""We are in the midst of the War of Rebirth, the War on Seven Fronts, and we are winning it! But the campaign is not over yet. Tonight the Houthis fired missiles at Israel again. I ask you, the citizens of Israel, to strictly obey the instructions of the Home Front Command, and let me say something simple and true - they save lives. I also greatly appreciate the joining of arms with our American friends against this branch of the Iranian axis in Yemen. And of course, we still have a great deal of work to do against other parts of the axis of evil.".
""But of one thing I am certain: We can defeat them, and we will defeat them. With God's help, together we will do it and together we will win.".
