Israel has destroyed around two-thirds of Hamas’ fighting regiments in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, vowing to press on with the war until “complete victory.”
“There are two stages to the fighting: the first is to destroy the Hamas regiments, which are their organized combat frameworks,” Netanyahu said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
“So far, 16 or 17 of the 24 have been destroyed. After that, there is the (stage) of clearing the territory (of militants). The first action is usually shorter, the second usually takes longer,” he added.
Holding a photo of a fallen Israeli soldier, Netanyahu said that the soldiers did not die in vain and pledged that the fighting will continue until Hamas is defeated and the hostages are returned from Gaza.
“Victory will take many more months but we are determined to achieve it,” Netanyahu emphasized.
The Gaza war began when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel on October 7th, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel claims that more than 130 are still in captivity.
Israel responded to the Hamas attack with a siege, bombing, and ground invasion of Gaza.
