Following his first press conference in five months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put forward the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate more than two million Gazans to different countries.
Israel has been at war against the Palestinian resistance group since October 7, 2023. It has so far failed to achieve its listed objective of defeating Hamas, which, according to international experts, is an unachievable goal and therefore leaves only dialogue to be the last choice.
While Israel claims to have a fool proof plan to defeat the group, so far it has not been able to do so and is risking the lives of the hostages currently under Hamas captivity.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s optimism can be clearly understood from yesterday’s press conference, where he said, “Our forces are landing powerful blows that will get stronger against Hamas strongholds that still exist in Gaza.”
He said, after the operation is over, “All the territory of Gaza will be under Israeli security control, and Hamas will be defeated.”
While “ready to end the war,” Netanyahu said he will only agree to do so “under clear conditions that will ensure the safety of Israel: All the hostages come home, Hamas lays down its arms, steps down from power, its leadership is exiled from the Strip… Gaza is disarmed, and we carry out the Trump plan. A plan that is so correct and so revolutionary.”
He said that if there is a possibility for a “temporary ceasefire” that will return more hostages, he would agree to that, but repeated that this would only be temporary.
According to regional experts, Netanyahu’s downplaying of Hamas’s capability is another sign of his sheer ignorance and arrogance, as he said members of the terror group “attacked us in flip-flops and with AK-47s and pickup trucks, which cost scraps.”
He said no tunnels that Hamas might have built with the money penetrated Israel, since he had ordered an underground barrier built. Hamas did not have F-35s or tanks, he also said.
Meanwhile, he forgot to mention that hundreds, if not thousands, of Hamas fighters entered Israel on October 7, carrying out a deadly assault inside Israel.
Hamas has already rejected the proposal of disbanding the group and exiling its armed wing from Gaza. The Hamas spokesperson earlier this month said, “Israeli conditions for ceasefire are unacceptable demands and that they cannot agree to them under any pressure.”
The group said, “thank you, but no thanks,” to Netanyahu’s ceasefire condition demands; meanwhile, the remaining hostages are still facing the threats of getting killed either by Hamas or by friendly Israeli fire or airstrikes.
“Hamas is not going to agree to a complete surrender, but that is still what Israel is demanding,” the Arab official said, echoing an earlier statement from senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri.
“Handing over the resistance’s weapons is a million red lines and is not subject to consideration, let alone discussion,” Abu Zuhri said.
Additionally, successive polls have indicated that the government is out of step with the majority of Israelis who back ending the war started by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack in exchange for the release of all 58 remaining hostages—23 of whom are believed to still be alive.
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