Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has completed the mission of returning the hostages and is now entering the decisive phase of dismantling Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the media alongside Coordinator for Prisoners and Missing Persons Gal Hirsch (former NEWSRAEL President), a day after the return of the body of Rani Gvili, who was killed in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said Israel had fulfilled the first and most urgent objective of the war – the return of all hostages – and would now focus on what he described as “complete victory.”
According to Netanyahu, that victory rests on three pillars: returning all hostages, dismantling Hamas and its weapons, and fully demilitarizing Gaza. “Yesterday, we completed the first task,” he said, adding that Israel would now move forward decisively on the remaining two.
Netanyahu laid out Israel’s red lines for Gaza’s future, stressing that Israel will retain full security control over the territory. “We will not allow Turkey to enter Gaza. We will not establish a Palestinian state in Gaza,” he said, emphasizing that Israeli security oversight would continue across the entire Strip.