Netanyahu to Israelis: This Is What Demilitarized Gaza Means

Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a press conference today (Sunday) in Hebrew for the Israeli public, following his conference earlier in the day for the foreign media, in which he explained his vision for the Gaza Strip and why he decided to give up on negotiations with Hamas.

According to the Prime Minister, months of "fruitless" negotiations with Hamas revealed that the terrorist group would not budget on "surrender" terms for Israel, including a full withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip, the release of October 7 participants, and binding international guarantees which prevent Israel from acting against Hamas. Netanyahu said that these are conditions no Israeli government can accept, certainly no government he leads.

As to why the government ordered an attack on Gaza City first rather than the central camps, Netanyahu said that the main headquarters and bases of Hamas forces are located in Gaza City, which is why it's necessary to eliminate Hamas forces there first.

Netanyahu said that his plan for the Gaza Strip is one so "demilitarized" that weapons can neither be manufactured there nor smuggled in, with a civil administration which will live in peace with Israel rather than encourage terrorism or the elimination of the State of Israel.

He also said that while Hamas has been driven from most of the Gaza Strip, it is still holding out in Gaza City and the central camps, and that Israel cannot afford to let them continue to exist and threaten the country's south.

Addressing continuing reports of burnout among reservists, Netanyahu said that he has instructed the IDF to work as fast as possible to take over Gaza City to lessen the burden on those forces.

While taking questions from the press, Netanyahu accidentally thanked "our great friend, President Biden" before he was corrected and then said "Trump, in this case," even adding that "there is a difference, in the end."