Netanyahu: the operation's deadline has been set
- We are at the peak of the fight for our existence. All members of Hamas are "walking dead". Israel is preparing for a ground operation. The date for the operation was unanimously set by the war cabinet and the chief of staff - said in his evening address to the nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Surprising words were also dropped as to the politician's responsibility for the current situation.
7:19 AM EDT, October 26, 2023
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech just after 1 PM Eastern Time. He assured that a "ground invasion is happening".
Two goals of Israel. The invasion date has been set
- We are currently in the midst of a campaign for our existence. We have set two goals for the war: eliminating Hamas by destroying its military and governmental potential and doing everything possible to ensure our abductees can return home - he said.
Netanyahu claims that the war cabinet operates "without political considerations." - Together with Defense Minister Galant, Minister Benny Gantz, the Defense Cabinet, the chief of staff, and the heads of defense departments, we work 24/7 to achieve war goals until victory - he stressed.
- We are raining down hellfire on Hamas. We have already eliminated thousands of terrorists - and this is just the beginning. At the same time, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not go into detail about when, how, and how many, nor the set of factors we take into account, the vast majority of which are not at all known to the public. In this way, we protect the lives of our soldiers - he emphasized.
Netanyahu claims that a unanimous decision was made regarding the timing of the ground invasion. - I want to emphasize that the timing of the operation was unanimously agreed upon by the war cabinet along with the chief of staff and jointly with the cabinet we are working on providing our soldiers with the best possible conditions for subsequent operations. When we enter Gaza, continuing the fight we will extract a full price from the murderers - the perpetrators of horrendous atrocities by Hamas-ISIS. I call again to the civilian population of Gaza - evacuate to the south - he repeated.
He added that the immense pain associated with the loss of 1400 people in the Hamas attack - "our brothers and sisters, who were murdered in cold blood and fell in heroic battles against the predators," has not been forgotten.
Netanyahu on responsibility "for the black day"
He announced that mourning days would be declared in memory of the victims of the attack and vowed that the destroyed southern kibbutzim and communities "will be rebuilt".
Finally, he addressed the Israelis: - Citizens of Israel, October 7 was a dark day in our history. We will find out to the end what happened at the southern border and in the vicinity of Gaza. This default setting will be fully investigated. Everyone will have to give an answer. Me too. But all this will happen only after the war. As Prime Minister, I am responsible for securing the future of the country, and now my role is to lead the state of Israel and the nation to a crushing victory over our enemies. The time has come to unite forces for one purpose: to move forward and win.
