‘Hamas hurting more than it has in a long time’

Finance Minister Yair Lapid says Hamas is suffering badly in the fighting.

“We are hurting Hamas like we haven’t hurt it in a long time,” he says. “There have been 4,200 [IDF] strikes. We’ve cut down to one-third their rocket arsenal and their rocket manufacturing capabilities.”

And, he adds, “the IDF won’t leave [Gaza] until the tunnel threat is over. There will be a [ceasefire] arrangement according to the Egyptian format. There is no other option on offer.”

The civilian death toll worries him “greatly,” he says. “There is something called Jewish morality that obligates us.” But, he says, “we are saddened that Hamas uses women and children as human shields and leads them to their death.”

He mocks the Gaza terror group for its claims of victory. “Hamas claims everywhere, on Al-Jazeera and other networks, that it’s winning. It’s reminiscent of Saddam Hussein’s propaganda minister who declared every day that he was winning until one day he disappeared and we didn’t hear from him again.”