While briefing members of the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Friday, Israeli Defense Forces Gen. Yoav Gallant said that there will be “three stages” in its war against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza to ensure eliminating the group and its military and governing capabilities.
“We are now in the first stage — a military campaign that currently includes strikes, and will later include maneuvering, with the objective of neutralizing terrorists and destroying Hamas infrastructure," Gallant said, according to a translation by Middle East analyst Joe Truzman.
The meeting at the Israeli Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv was chaired by Knesset Member Yuli Edelstein, according to the post.
After the first phase, Gallant said the second part would have the objective of “eliminating ‘pockets of resistance’.”
The final phase would “require the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel,” Gallant said.
“We are at war; we have been left no choice,” Gallant said. “Oct. 7 will be remembered as the day that started the destruction of Hamas.”
War erupted when Hamas launched a coordinated attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets and using paragliders and heavy equipment to remove the barbed-wire fencing between Gaza and Israel.
The onslaught infiltrated 22 Israeli towns by land, sea, and air, killing more than 1,400 while Hamas kidnapped around 200 hostages that were taken into Gaza.
Israel has retaliated with massive airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million Palestinians, killing more than 4,100, and amassing an estimated 360,000 IDF troops at the border for an anticipated ground assault, the report said.
Hamas released two American hostages earlier Friday, a mother and daughter, “for humanitarian reasons.”
Judith and Natalie Ranaan were visiting Israel from suburban Chicago to celebrate the Jewish holidays when the Oct. 7 attacks took place and Hamas militants stormed the Nahal Oz kibbutz where they were staying.
President Joe Biden talked with the freed hostages, who were transported from Gaza to Israel by the Red Cross.
In a statement, Hamas said it was working with mediators from Egypt and Qatar to secure the release of the other hostages if security circumstances can be met, according to the report.
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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