Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a statement to the Israeli media on Sunday evening, his first since Operation Rising Lion in Iran.
He discussed the Cabinet meeting held on Thursday, where the decision was made to take control of Gaza, saying, "The Cabinet instructed the IDF to move into the decisive phase and take control of the last strongholds held by Hamas - chief among them Gaza City, the terror capital, where the organization's headquarters, commanders, and infrastructure are located."
He then outlined five principles set by the Cabinet for ending the war: "The IDF will allow civilians in Gaza City to evacuate from combat zones, as we successfully did in Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Deir al-Balah. We will provide an organized exit corridor and humanitarian aid outside the combat zones."
"After months of fruitless negotiations, it became clear that Hamas does not want a deal. It remains steadfast in its refusal and has presented impossible conditions, even in the eyes of the United States."
Netanyahu pointed out that Hamas’s conditions included: "A complete withdrawal from the Strip, including from the Philadelphi Corridor - which would allow weapons smuggling; the release of Nukhba terrorists; and a demand for binding international guarantees preventing the IDF from engaging in combat."
He added, "These are conditions of surrender that no responsible government would accept, and I will not accept. Hamas has deceived us - and therefore, I have decided that the only way forward is to defeat Hamas."
Commenting on the Cabinet’s discussion, Netanyahu said, "It was proposed to encircle Hamas and conduct raids, but the majority of the Cabinet believed that this would not achieve victory or bring back the hostages."
He further emphasized, "Through the path I led, 205 out of 255 hostages were released, 148 of whom were alive. We are committed to bringing back the 20 who are alive and the 30 who are no longer alive. We stand at a historic crossroads. I promised to change the face of the Middle East - we broke the Iranian axis, Hezbollah was struck, and the government is working to disarm it."
Netanyahu concluded, "This is a historic achievement that some try to downplay - as if saving the lives of ten million people and securing our future for generations is trivial. This was all achieved despite heavy pressures from both within and outside the country to stop the war before we entered Rafah. Had I given in to those pressures, Sinwar and Haniyeh would still be ruling Gaza, and Iran would be racing toward a nuclear weapon, producing 20,000 ballistic missiles threatening our existence."
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