Netanyahu: "The war inside Gaza is going to be long"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday drew a connection between the conflict with Hamas and the Arab-Israeli War between 1947 and 1949, which occurred as Israel declared its independence, CNN reports.
“The war inside Gaza is going to be long. This is our second independence war. We're going to save our country,” Netanyahu said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that the second stage of the war against Hamas has begun, with the goal of destroying the group's armed wing and government, and returning hostages held in Gaza home.
“Our heroic fighters have one goal: To destroy this enemy and to make sure the existence of our country. Never again. 'Never again,' is now,” Netanyahu said during a news conference Saturday.
Netanyahu also confirmed he spoke with the family of hostages held by Hamas and vowed to them that he would exhaust all options to return their loved ones.
During the same media briefing, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the intensifying assault will increase the chances Hamas will return hostages it is holding in Gaza.
“As we hit the enemy harder, there's a better chance that the enemy will agree to solutions to return the loved ones,” Gallant said. The expansion of ground operations has alarmed families of hostages, with an advocacy group saying Saturday that loved ones face "absolute uncertainty regarding the fate of the hostages held (in Gaza), who were also subject to the heavy bombings."
"Anxiety, frustration, and especially enormous anger that none of the war cabinet bothered to meet with the families of the hostages to explain one thing - whether the ground operation endangers the well-being of the 229 hostages in Gaza," the group said in a statement.
