Once We Begin the Rafah Operation, Victory Is ‘Weeks Away’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that victory in the war against Hamas is “weeks away” once Israeli military operations begin in the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. He said it would be.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “I have set three war goals: first, to free the hostages; second, to destroy Hamas; and third, to ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.” And clearly, these three are intertwined. They are fundamentally achieved through our highly effective and often heroic military operations. And also through tough negotiations, we are able to achieve this goal. We are bringing the two together and we hope it will yield results, but please understand that we cannot have peace unless we completely win. Leaving Hamas alone is You can’t. You can’t leave a quarter of a Hamas battalion in Rafah and say, okay, they’ll be there. That leaves a quarter of ISIS with no clear territory. It’s like saying that they will be given, because they will rebuild quickly. Therefore, achieving the war goals of destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages, and ensuring that they do not pose a threat to Gaza “A complete victory is important. But I think it’s also essential for a future peaceful Middle East.”

He added: “Hamas is a terrorist organization, and once we start Operation Rafah, the intense phase of the fighting will take weeks, not months, weeks to complete. We destroyed 18 of them. So we – we are – and four of them are concentrated in Rafah. We cannot leave Hamas without taking care of its last stronghold. No, obviously we have to do it. But I have asked the military to submit a dual plan to evacuate to allow for the evacuation of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. And, of course, please understand that we have asked the military to submit a dual plan to annihilate the remaining Hamas battalions, which will bring us really, really close to completing the victory. And we are not going to give up on that. If we reach an agreement, there will be some delay. But it will happen. Even if there is no agreement, we will agree anyway. It has to be done, because a complete victory That’s our goal, and complete victory is within reach. Once we start surgery, we’re weeks away, not months away.”