Israel's head of government describes the genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa as a “moral low point”. His country will fight “until the end”. Israel's army wants to increase pressure on Hamas.
Jerusalem – On the 100th day of the Gaza War, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again vowed his country to fight “until complete victory”. The state of Israel, its armed forces and security services waged a “moral and just war, unparalleled, against the Hamas monsters, the new Nazis,” said the head of government, who is under domestic political pressure, on Saturday. “No one will stop us,” Netanyahu said, pointing to South Africa’s genocide lawsuit filed at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
“The hypocritical attack in The Hague against the state of the Jews, which arose from the ashes of the Holocaust, at the behest of those who came to commit another Holocaust against the Jews, is a moral low point in the history of nations.” said Netanyahu. The army found copies of Adolf Hitler's “Mein Kampf” in the Hamas tunnels under the Gaza Strip. The Islamists of Hamas are “the new Nazis,” said Netanyahu, quoting Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He thanked him for Germany's clear rejection of the genocide claim.
Netanyahu has been criticized since the attack
A massacre by Hamas and other extremist organizations in southern Israel with 1,200 deaths and the abduction of civilians and soldiers into the Gaza Strip triggered the Gaza war on October 7th. Since then, Israel's military has launched massive air strikes and a ground offensive against Hamas. Netanyahu's popularity plummeted after the unprecedented attack. The public in his country accuses him of neglecting the security forces' preparations for such an attack.
“We will continue the war to the end – to complete victory, until we have achieved all of our goals: eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said. It is also a war against “the axis of evil, led by Iran and its three proxies,” said the head of government, citing not only Hamas but also the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Israel's Chief of General Staff: Increase pressure on Hamas
Israel's army wants to further increase military pressure on Hamas, as Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi announced with a view to the 100th day of the war. “Pressure that will lead to the dismantling of Hamas and the return of the hostages,” he said.
The Hamas leadership is pinning its hopes on a ceasefire “and is convinced that this moment is near,” Halevi said. We will continue to be “determined and persistent”. “To destroy Hamas, patience is necessary and essential,” said the chief of staff. He also addressed the ongoing confrontations with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, which is allied with Hamas. “The area in southern Lebanon is a combat zone and will remain so as long as Hezbollah operates from there,” Halevi said. “Hezbollah risks turning all of Lebanon into a combat zone, and at great cost,” he warned. dpa
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