In a late-night speech on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that all Hamas members will die. He made the statement during a press conference about the new emergency government formed to fight the war against the terror group.
The other members of the government are Likud leader Yoav Gallant and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz. As the war enters its sixth day, the new government vows to destroy the terror group.
“We are fighting on all fronts and have entered the offensive. All Hamas members will be dead,” said Netanyahu. He compared the terror group to the Islamic State. On Saturday, the Palestinian militants attacked Southern Israel, burning people alive, raping victims and shooting babies in the head.
The attack, which was described as the most lethal in decades, led to Israeli forces launching air strikes against Palestinian settlements in Gaza. Following the attack, the Israeli government declared a state of war, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launching Operation “Swords of Iron”.
In a statement, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that “we have seen children bound to their beds, people burned alive, and young women who were raped.” He added that “Hamas is an enemy of the state” and that “we will destroy it as we destroyed ISIS”. Defense Minister Gallant said that Hamas would be “obliterated” that “Hamas will be wiped out” and that “it will cease to exist”.
He added that “there will be no more situations where Israeli children are killed and we go about our daily lives”. Gallant said that the attack on Southern Israel by thousands of terrorists was “the worst terror in the world” and that, despite his many years as a soldier, “I have never seen anything like this”.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, more than 1,200 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, while an additional 5,600 have been injured. Meanwhile, the death toll in Israel has also risen to more than 1,200 people.
The United Nations said that as a result of Israel’s devastating bombing raids in Gaza, more than 338,000 people have been displaced.