With President Joe Biden’s administration pressuring Israel to agree on a ceasefire in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his country was committed to a complete military victory over the terrorist group Hamas.
Prime Minister “Netanyahu on Sunday said the IDF was pummeling Hamas to destroy its military capabilities, on its path to total victory and the release of the hostages,” the Israeli news YNET website reports.
“The military was systematically destroying Hamas and governing capabilities while at the same time working toward the release of the hostages,” Netanyahu said.
The statement comes as the Biden-Harris administration joined Qatar — a leading Hamas patron — in calling for a Gaza ceasefire.
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, on Friday, again called for a ceasefire in Gaza. “I have been clear: now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done,” Harris told anti-Israel protesters at a campaign rally in Arizona.
“Yet again, far too many civilians have been killed,” Harris later told reporters, mouthing a talking point peddled by Hamas and its supporters in the West.
Hamas has refused to participate in the latest round of hostage negotiations, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported Sunday afternoon. Around 115 Israeli hostages, including women and children, are believed to be in the captivity of the Gaza-based terrorist group for over 10 months.
The IDF on Sunday urged Gazans to evacuate parts of Khan Yunis humanitarian area after Hamas fired rockets from southern Gaza safe zone.
“The instructions were transmitted via leaflets dropped from aircraft, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts, with the military saying that the early warning was aimed at mitigating harm to civilians,” the Times of Israel reported.
The evacuation is temporary and aims to “prevent Hamas from using residents of the safe zone as human shields,” the IDF assured.
“Due to significant terrorist activity, exploitation of the Humanitarian Area for terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the Aljalaa area, remaining in this area has become dangerous. Accordingly, at this time, the Humanitarian Area will be adjusted,” the IDF announced in a press statement Sunday. “The adjustment is being carried out in accordance with precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in the area defined as a Humanitarian Area.”
Israeli ground troops were pushing ahead with their operation in the Hamas terror stronghold of Rafah. “IDF troops are continuing to conduct precise, intelligence-based operations in the Rafah area,” the military disclosed in a press release.
On Sunday morning “IDF troops identified a terrorist cell exiting a tunnel shaft in the area of Rafah. The IAF struck and eliminated the terrorists,” the military added.
Amid growing threats of an attack from Iran and its terrorist proxy Hezbollah, the IDF conducted a series of military drills for the reservists in northern Israel. The drill included combat operations in mountainous terrain, similar to the one occupied by Hezbollah terrorist forces in southern Lebanon.
The IDF disclosed the details of the exercise:
In recent days, the soldiers of the 646th Reserve Brigade completed a brigade-level exercise in the northern arena. The brigade moved north for the exercise after operating in the central and southern Gaza Strip and carrying out operational activities in Judea and Samaria.The forces practiced combat scenarios in which they improved their tactical skills, including movement in dense terrain, advancing along mountain terrain, and directing firepower in enemy territory. Additionally, the brigade trained for scenarios of evacuating wounded from the battlefield under fire and the cooperation between various units.The exercise is part of a series of exercises conducted by ground forces in the northern arena, led by the National Center for Ground Training.
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