Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz held a press conference from the Kirya (military headquarters) in Tel Aviv this evening (Tuesday).
At the beginning of his remarks, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "Our soldiers will light the Hanukkah light in the darkness of the streets of Gaza - our fighters are the next generation of the Maccabees. They fight with courage and determination."
Netanyahu recounted his meeting earlier today with families of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza and a number of hostages who were released last week. “I heard heartbreaking stories of abuse,” he said. “I heard, as you have heard, about sexual abuse and unprecedented cases of cruel rape.”
However, Netanyahu said that "until a few days ago we didn't hear from the women's organizations and the human rights organizations, where were you?! Were you silent because it was Jewish women?"
Speaking in English, he said: “I say to the women’s rights organizations, to the human rights organizations, you’ve heard of the rape of Israeli women, horrible atrocities, sexual mutilation? Where the hell are you?”
“I expect all civilized leaders, governments, nations to speak up against this atrocity,” he said.
The Prime Minister praised the progress of the IDF in the war against Hamas in Gaza, saying "we are on the right path."
"We managed to bring 110 hostages home," he said. "We are working to return all of them without exception. The continuous ground operation is the only way to bring the rest of the hostages out of captivity."
He further stated that the IDF has eliminated “about half of Hamas’s battalion commanders.”