Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday evening that Israel's objective was neither to govern nor to occupy Gaza, where he said the army was making "exceptionally good" progress in its offensive against Hamas. "I think the IDF is operating in an exceptional way," he told Fox News, again rejecting the idea of a ceasefire. "One thing we haven't accepted is a ceasefire. A ceasefire with Hamas means a surrender" and "there will not be one without the release of the hostages," Netanyahu reiterated, when asked about the content of his talks with US President Joe Biden. "But we have agreed to set up safe corridors" for the passage of the civilian population from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip, he said.
The leader said Israel had no intention of staying in Gaza long-term. "We are not seeking to govern Gaza. We are not seeking to occupy it, but we are seeking to give it and us a better future," he said, adding that Israel was not seeking to "displace anyone." Asked about his plan for the future of the Palestinian territory, he said it needed to be "demilitarized, deradicalized and rebuilt." "We will have to find a government, a civilian government that will be there," he added, without specifying who could form such a government.
We will continue until we eradicate Hamas and nothing will stop us. »
Benyamin Netanyahou
Regarding the Israeli army's advance on the ground, the Israeli prime minister said it was "operating exceptionally well in its fight against terrorists on the ground and underground." "We will continue until we eradicate Hamas" and "nothing will stop us," he said. "I've set goals, but I haven't set a timeline because it may take longer," he said. "I'd like it to take a short time. But we are moving forward step by step, reducing our losses while trying to reduce and minimize civilian casualties and maximize the losses of Hamas terrorists and, so far, I think everything is going well."
The conflict began as Israel moved closer to a peace deal with Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu insisted that the conflict would not torpedo diplomatic momentum and that conditions would be "ripe" for the resumption of negotiations after the destruction of Hamas. "I think the conditions will be right. In fact, after a win, I think they will be even more mature," he said. The war in Gaza began on October 7 with the massacres of Hamas - 1,400 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to the Israeli authorities. To "annihilate" Hamas, the Israeli army is bombing the 2.4 million Gazans day and night and at least 10,800 of them have been killed, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.