Defeating Hamas is ‘test’ for Israel: Netanyahu

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that defeating Palestinian resistance organization Hamas is a ‘test of existence’ for Israel.

According to foreign media, the Prime Minister of Israel stated in one of his statements that they must defeat Hamas in any case because it is a test of existence for them.

He blamed Iran saying that Iran supports Hamas and ‘I believe that 90 percent of Hamas's military budget comes from Iran, it funds, organizes and directs Hamas’.

Referring to its aggression in Gaza, Netanyahu added that war inside Gaza Strip could be long and difficult because Israeli troops have been operating on Palestinian land for more than 24 hours.

Prime Minister announced that war has moved into the second phase and efforts to free more than 200 hostages will continue even during the ground operation against Hamas in Gaza.

It is pertinent to note that Israeli aggression against Palestinians continues, in which the number of martyred Palestinians has exceeded 8,000, in which more than half of them are children and women.