Netanyahu: Goal of war is ‘to defeat the murderous enemy, ensure our existence in our land’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the second stage of the war against Hamas has begun with the entrance of more ground forces into Gaza last night.

At a press conference in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu says Israel’s war aims are clear — “destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities; and returning the hostages home.”

Netanyahu says the decision to begin the ground incursion was made unanimously, both by the war cabinet and the security cabinet.

“Our commanders and soldiers fighting in enemy territory know that the nation and the national leadership stand behind them,” he adds.

Netanyahu says the troops that he has met in the field are determined to make Hamas pay for its actions on October 7.

“They are determined to eradicate this evil from the world, for our existence and, I add, for all of humanity,” he says.

The premier quotes the biblical injunction to remember what the Amalekites did to the Israelites. “We remember, and we are fighting.”

Netanyahu says the soldiers are part of a legacy of Jewish warriors that goes back 3,000 years. He stresses that they have one goal: “To defeat the murderous enemy, and to ensure our existence in our land.”