Speaking to IDF recruits, Netanyahu touts victories, vows not to give up on Gaza war goals

During a visit to the Bakum, the massive military induction base in central Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with young recruits enlisting in the IDF’s Armored Corps and Combat Engineering Corps and reiterates the need to complete Israel’s war aims in Gaza.

In a video shared by his office, Netanyahu is seen greeting and sending off the new troops, after which he commends the two corps for having “performed outstandingly in this war.”

“These two forces are what brought us the great victories we’ve achieved so far,” says the premier, pointing to strikes against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime in Syria, and Iran.

“But there is still a need to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to release all our hostages, and to ensure that Gaza is no longer a threat to Israel,” he continues, reiterating his three stated aims for the war.

“We are not giving up on any of these missions. We will accomplish them together through the great sacrifice of our male and female combat soldiers,” he says. Netanyahu notes that this is the sixth recruitment cycle during the war, and says “more troops than ever” are being drafted, and “there has also been a tremendous increase in the number of women volunteering for combat roles.”