Israel PM says army entering Gaza ‘with full force’ in coming days

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days, a statement from his office said Tuesday.

“In the very coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with injured reserve soldiers in his office late Monday.

“There will be no situation where we stop the war. A temporary ceasefire might happen, but we are going all the way,” he added.

Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid a deadlock over how to proceed with a January 19 ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Palestinian group Hamas.

Earlier this month, Israel’s government approved plans to expand its Gaza offensive, with officials talking of retaining a long-term presence there.

Israel’s military said the planned broader operation, which has drawn international condemnation, would include displacing “most” residents of the Palestinian territory.

Nearly all of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once during the war.

Israel has pushed for Palestinians to leave Gaza, with a senior security official saying that a “voluntary transfer programme… will be part of the operation’s goals”.

Israeli ministers have seized on a proposal initially floated by US President Donald Trump for the voluntary departure of Gazans to neighbouring countries such as Jordan or Egypt.

Cairo and Amman, along with other Arab allies, governments around the world and the Palestinians themselves, have flatly rejected the proposal.

During the meeting with soldiers, Netanyahu said Israel was working to find countries that may be willing to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

“We’ve set up an administration that will allow them (Gaza residents) to leave but… we need countries willing to take them in. That’s what we’re working on right now,” he said, adding that he estimated “over 50 percent will leave” if given the option.