Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli head of state to travel to Gaza in two decades when he visited IDF troops stationed there on Sunday and was shown Hamas tunnels.
“We continue until the end – until victory,” Netanyahu said as he pledged to continue the Gaza war until he has ousted Hamas from Gaza.
“Nothing will stop us. We are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will, and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals, and we will,” he said.
Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza to its internationally recognized border with the enclave in 2005, destroying 21 settlements there, and handing over control of the territory to the Palestinian Authority. Hamas forcibly seized control of Gaza in 2007 in a bloody coup, in which it expelled the PA’s Fatah party from the enclave.
Netanyahu’s visit to Gaza comes amid a four-day pause in the Gaza war which was sparked by Hamas’ infiltration of southern Israel, during which the terror group killed over 1,200 people and seized over 239 hostage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, November 25, 2023
Four-day truce set to expire on Monday
The hostage deal that allowed for the four-day pause in exchange for the release of 50 hostages is set to expire at midnight on Monday unless it’s extended.
The IDF, however, has remained in Gaza so that it does not lose any battleground.
Netanyahu promised that all the hostages would be freed.
“We will make every effort to return our captives, and eventually we will return them all,” Netanyahu said as he stood with the troops, wearing a helmet and flak jacket.
“We have three goals for this war: eliminate Hamas, return all our captives, and ensure that Gaza does not become a threat to the State of Israel again.
“Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will, and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals, and we will,” Netanyahu said.
He recalled that he had seen graffiti on a wall stating, “The Jewish people live.”
Netanyahu said he wanted to extend the phrase to also state, and “the Jewish people are victorious.”
