Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Tuesday that Israel’s months-long offensive against Hamas in Gaza had been an “extraordinary success” as Israeli troops began operations in Gaza City, the capital of the besieged strip.
In a televised address to soldiers, the Israeli prime minister said there were “problems” with drones, improvised explosive devices and anti-tank fire and, in some cases, “very painful losses.”
But he added: “All in all, the success is phenomenal because we went in there and met the enemy.”
“We have no intention of stopping. We want to continue until the end,” he said.
His comments came as Israeli forces began the most difficult phase of their offensive in Gaza – urban fighting in Gaza City, the heart of Hamas operations in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
After surrounding the city this week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that Israeli forces would now operate in “built-up” areas.
“Our forces from the north and south are advancing into the heart of Gaza City,” Gallant said. “They operate in built-up areas [of the city].”
Israeli forces launched the offensive in the coastal enclave after Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, launched a deadly attack in southern Israel that Israeli officials said killed more than 1,400 people. The militant Islamist group also captured more than 240 hostages.
As Israel besieged the Strip and bombarded it with air and artillery strikes, more than 10,000 people were killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
Israel has ordered Palestinians to move from north to south as more than a million people – half the population – have been displaced.
Gallant reiterated calls for Gaza citizens still in the north of the strip to move south, saying “thousands” would leave the country.
Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that Israel would maintain an indefinite hold on the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, to ensure its own security. It was his first explicit comment on the country’s plans for the Palestinian enclave after the war with Hamas.
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The Gaza Strip should be ruled by “those who do not want to continue the path of Hamas,” Netanyahu said, without clarifying whether he was referring to the Palestinian Authority, a rival of the militant group or an international force.
“I think Israel will have overall responsibility for security indefinitely because we have seen what happens when we don’t have it.”
Netanyahu’s comments reflect changing Israeli policy as foreign diplomats worry about whether Israel has a clear plan for what will happen when the fighting stops.
In October, Gallant said Israel would no longer have “responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip” after the war ended. He added that the conflict would create “a new security reality” for Israeli citizens.
At a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Tokyo on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “At some point in the future, I think the world would want to see Palestinian leadership as part of the path to a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution.”
“But at some point after the immediate conflict and before civilian leadership is established, it is inevitable that local forces will have to take over security control.”
Arab diplomats last week dismissed as premature U.S. efforts led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to win regional support for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank. The group was expelled from Gaza in 2007 after losing elections to Hamas.
Netanyahu told ABC he would support tactical pauses, particularly to help free some of the 242 hostages held by Hamas, but he has repeatedly rejected the broader ceasefire called for by Arab leaders, the United Nations and other international organizations.
“As far as tactical little breaks, an hour here, an hour there – we’ve had them before,” he said. “We will examine the circumstances to allow the entry of goods, humanitarian goods or the exit of our hostages, individual hostages.”
In a phone call on Monday, US President Joe Biden urged Netanyahu to agree to “temporary local pauses,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“This remains something we are actively discussing with our Israeli counterparts, and we consider ourselves to be the beginning of that conversation, not the end of it,” Kirby said.
The US government does not support a full ceasefire, which it says would only give Hamas time to regroup.
Israel-Hamas War: 2-minute briefing
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Israel has strictly restricted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, from more than 400 trucks a day before the war to a few dozen a day. International observers have warned that these restrictions are exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.
Just over 500 trucks have been allowed to enter Israel from Egypt since the start of the war, and another 75 are expected to cross on Monday, according to an Israeli military assessment.
Diplomats are also trying to ensure that the Rafah crossing into Egypt remains open to foreigners seeking to flee the war, but disagreements between Israel, Egypt and Hamas over who can leave the border have disrupted the process.
An Israeli airstrike on an ambulance convoy en route to Rafah, the only border crossing not controlled by Israel, has also caused delays. Israel said one of the ambulances was carrying a Hamas fighter.
Additional reporting by David Keohane