Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited his troops in northern Gaza on Sunday and took a “tour” of Hamas terrorist tunnels for the first time since the war began.
Reaching the third day of a temporary ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave, Netanyahu reaffirmed his nation’s commitment to freeing hostages held in Gaza and vowed to eradicate the terrorist group.
“We have three objectives for this war: eliminate Hamas, return all our hostages and ensure that Gaza does not become a threat to the State of Israel again,” Netanyahu said, according to a video released by his office. “We will continue until the end, until victory.
“Nothing will stop us and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will and the determination to achieve all the objectives of the war, and we will do it,” he promised.
Along with the speech to IDF soldiers, the prime minister also visited one of the tunnels discovered by the Israeli army that leads to Hamas’s 300-mile underground network.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (center, in black shirt) visited his troops in northern Gaza for the first time since the war began. Israeli Prime Minister’s Office/AFP via Getty Images Netanyahu also took a tour of a Hamas tunnel cleared by the IDF. Israeli Prime Minister’s Office/AFP via Getty Images
Netanyahu had warned in past years that the tunnel system could be used to kidnap Israeli citizens, a scenario that came true during the October 7 massacre in which more than 1,200 people were killed and nearly 240 were taken hostage in Israel.
Although he claimed that the war would not end until Hamas was destroyed for its actions on October 7, Netanyahu was among the Israeli leaders who voted to sign a ceasefire agreement with the terrorist group in exchange for the freedom of dozens of hostages.
The ceasefire, which came into effect on Thursday, is expected to last until Monday, with nearly 60 hostages released so far.
Netanyahu said his nation was committed to freeing hostages taken by Hamas and destroying the terrorist group. AP Margalit Mozes was among the first group of hostages freed on Friday.
Confirming the release Sunday of 4-year-old American-Israeli girl Abigail Edan, the first American freed since the start of the temporary truce, President Biden told reporters that his administration was working to extend the pause beyond Monday deadline.
Speaking at the White House, Biden said he remains in talks with his Israeli counterpart to extend the ceasefire provided more hostages are freed.
“For weeks I have been advocating for a pause in fighting for two purposes: to increase assistance reaching Gaza civilians in need and to facilitate the release of hostages,” Biden said.
“That is our goal, to maintain this pause beyond tomorrow,” he added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn