No Peace Until Hamas Is Destroyed – Israel PM Netanyahu Says

After announcing that the battle would likely intensify, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Hamas must be annihilated, the region must be demilitarized, and Palestinian society must be “deradicalized” for peace to be reached in Gaza.

The statements were made in response to yesterday’s “harrowing” World Health Organization report detailing the deaths of entire families in attacks on a Gaza refugee camp on Christmas Eve.

The battle has escalated tensions throughout the Middle East and ravaged Palestinian territory due to Israeli’s relentless assaults. As a result, there is growing international demand for a ceasefire.

However, Netanyahu vowed to stick with the plan in an opinion piece that was published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday night.

“Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarized, and Palestinian society must be deradicalized. These are the three prerequisites for peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours in Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

According to him, creating a temporary security zone outside the territory’s boundary will be necessary for demilitarization.

He declared, “Israel will have to maintain primary security responsibility over Gaza for the foreseeable future.”

Netanyahu visited Gaza earlier on Monday and declared, upon his return, that “we’re not stopping” at a Likud party conference. A party statement claimed, “We’re intensifying the fighting in the coming days.”

“Scary Tales”

On October 7, Hamas attacked southern Israel via the militarized border, resulting in the deaths of around 1,140 people, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli estimates. This marked the beginning of the Gaza War.

According to Israel, fighters also took roughly 250 hostages.

In response, Israel declared it would destroy Hamas and initiated a military campaign of retaliation that included a heavy aerial bombardment and a siege of the region. The health ministry operated by Hamas in Gaza reports that the campaign has killed at least 20,674 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.

The Al-Maghazi refugee camp’s inhabitants returned to the remains of their homes on Monday following attacks that, according to Gaza’s health ministry, claimed at least 70 lives the day before. That toll could not be independently verified by AFP.

According to Zeyad Awad, there was no alert for an evacuation before the strikes.

“What actions ought we to take? We are citizens who live in harmony and need only protection and security. And yet, without any prior notice, Israeli warplanes strike us,” he remarked.