Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his country is in "the final stage" of eliminating Hamas' armed force in the Gaza Strip. "We are advancing towards the completion of the elimination" of Hamas, he said this week during a meeting with cadets from Israel's National Security College, according to a statement released by his office.
Netanyahu's estimate came a day after he toured the Gaza division and held a security assessment meeting, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the army's senior command, on Israel's nine-month-long offensive in Gaza, "with emphasis on the fighting in Rafah, as well as the continuation of military pressure on Hamas," according to Netanyahu's office.
Beginning this week, the Israel Defense Forces ordered a mass evacuation of civilians from the eastern Khan Younis, signaling that ground forces might soon resume their offensives in the southern Gazan city, presumably to fight Hamas forces that have regrouped in the area. Israel completed a large-scale attack in Khan Younis in early April and subsequently withdrew most of its forces.
Meanwhile, Israel released 55 Palestinians this week whom it had detained from Gaza, including the director of the territory's main hospital. It also freed Al-Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya who said he was tortured during seven months in detention. Soon after, Netanyahu criticized the release as a "serious mistake".
Israel's military has accused Hamas of using hospitals, including Al-Shifa, as a cover for military operations, which the operative group denies.
Trump claims he can end Russia-Ukraine war in a dayWashington: Former US President Donald Trump has claimed that he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine war in one day if re-elected as president. “Russians and Ukrainians are dying and I want them to stop dying. I'll have that done in 24 hours," he stated. Trump mentioned that this would happen after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He continues to repeat this claim on the campaign trail. When asked to reply to the claims from Trump, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that the Ukrainian crisis cannot be solved in one day. |
