Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an increase in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said today in a meeting with Likud lawmakers that the army would intensify its fighting “in the coming days,” according to a statement from his Likud party. The war will be “long” and “not near the end”.
According to his own statements, the head of government had already personally traveled to the Gaza Strip. During a speech before the Knesset, Netanyahu later promised to release hostages from the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas who were still in the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli army needs “more time” to increase military pressure on Hamas.
Relatives of the hostages booed Netanyahu several times during his speech and shouted “Now! Now!” to support his calls for more efforts to free hostages more quickly.
The war between Israel and Hamas has lasted 80 days. The trigger was a large-scale attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, in which around 1,140 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.