Netanyahu announces “second phase” of “long and difficult” war against Hamas: “My life’s mission”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday that his forces had entered the “second phase” of his war with the terror group Hamas, calling the fight a “second war of independence.”
“The war in Gaza will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it,” Netanyahu said during a news conference in the evening local time. “This is our second war of independence.”
“The war in Gaza will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it,” he added, saying that the war is now “my life’s work.”
Netanyahu spoke at the end of a difficult week for Israel that saw further debate and frustration on both sides of the conflict as some world leaders called for a humanitarian pause or ceasefire. The United Nations voted on several motions and passed one calling for a ceasefire, which Israel rejected out of hand, calling it “despicable.”
Tensions remained high as Israel continued to invade Gaza ahead of a much-anticipated ground invasion: Allies had reportedly urged Israel to stand back as negotiations over the 220 hostages dragged on, frustrating Israeli leaders who blamed Hamas to use the negotiations to delay and regroup.
Instead of a full-scale ground invasion, Netanyahu announced on Saturday the “second phase of the war, the goals of which are clear: the destruction of Hamas’s military and state capabilities and the return of the hostages home.”
“We have unanimously decided to expand ground operations – both in the War Cabinet and the Political Security Cabinet,” Netanyahu said. “We did this in a prudent and informed manner, out of a commitment to ensuring the fate of the state and the safety of our soldiers.”
“We did this in a prudent and informed manner, out of a commitment to ensuring the fate of the state and the safety of our soldiers,” he continued. “The commanders and fighters who are now fighting in enemy territory know that the people and the people’s leadership are behind them.”
Netanyahu invoked the history of the Jewish people, recalling Joshua Ben-Nun, Judah Maccabee and Bar Kokhba – heroes of the Jewish people – as well as famous victories in the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, as well as the famous refrain: “never again, never again.
He reiterated warnings about Hamas’ modus operandi – using civilians as human shields and hiding under hospitals to carry out its operations while manipulating international law to protect it. He claimed that Israel’s allies in the “Western world and … the Arab world today understand that if Israel does not win, they will be next in line in the Axis of Evil’s campaign of conquest and assassination.”
“In an editorial published Saturday in The New York Times, former U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross claimed that he had spoken with allies across the Middle East over the past two weeks and found that Arab officials understood “Hamas must be destroyed in Gaza,” as any perceived victory by the terrorists “will confirm the group’s ideology of rejection, give pressure and momentum to Iran and its collaborators, and put their own governments on the defensive.”
Netanyahu invoked this existential threat at the climax of his speech, emphasizing that the war against Hamas is a fight “to endure or to cease,” but he insisted that Israel will succeed, saying, “We will and we will win.” admitting that the war would not end quickly.
Fox News’ Peter Aitken and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.