TEL AVIV: Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that Israeli Defense Forces are now operating in Gaza City, the center of Hamas’ operations, as Israel’s war against the militant group intensifies.
“We are in the heart of Gaza City,” Gallant told reporters. “Gaza is the largest terrorist base ever built.”
Galant also affirmed that when the war is over neither Hamas nor Israel would rule the enclave, home to 2.2 million Palestinians.
Gaza has been pounded with airstrikes since Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would consider short-term pauses in military operations to allow for humanitarian goods to reach the Gaza Strip or for hostages held by Hamas militants to leave, but he ruled out a general cease-fire in Israel’s month-old war with Hamas.
Speaking to ABC News, Netanyahu said he envisions Israel will “have the overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an indefinite period after achieving its goal of routing Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group.
“When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine,” Netanyahu said.
Israel says Hamas is holding more than 240 hostages taken during its October 7 attack that killed 1,400 people.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the death toll from Israeli attacks has surpassed 10,000.
The White House said Monday that President Joe Biden and Netanyahu discussed in a phone call the possibility for tactical pauses to allow civilians in Gaza to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and how to enable potential hostage releases.
(VOA)
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