Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant outlined Israel’s goals in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday, saying that Israel aimed to destroy the Palestinian terrorist group and, after establishing control, hand authority to a new “security regime” in charge.
The Times of Israel reported:
“We are in the first phase, in which a military campaign is taking place with [airstrikes] and later with a [ground] maneuver with the purpose of destroying operatives and damaging infrastructure in order to defeat and destroy Hamas,” Gallant says.
He says the second phase will be continued fighting but at a lower intensity as troops work to “eliminate pockets of resistance.”
“The third step will be the creation of a new security regime in the Gaza Strip, the removal of Israel’s responsibility for day-to-day life in the Gaza Strip, and the creation of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel and the residents of the [area surrounding Gaza],” he says.
Israel had been under pressure from the U.S. to develop a strategy beyond the actual removal of Hamas, presumably in the fear that ousting the terrorist group could lead to anarchy, and might encourage another terrorist group to take its place atop Gaza.
President Joe Biden delivered an Oval Office address on Thursday evening, reiterating his support for Israel, but tying the issue of aid to Israel to aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, possibly jeopardizing aid to Israel with a partisan fight over Ukraine.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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