One month after the Hamas massacre of 1,400 Israelis—mostly civilians—a key Israeli goal of their war with Gaza remains to take out Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. That is, unless the Gazans do it first. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in comments with the press on Saturday evening, referenced the brutal atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 and said, “Hamas leadership is responsible for this and we will get to them. We will get to Yahya Sinwar and we will eliminate him.
“To the residents of Gaza—if you get to them before us, it will shorten the war.”
While an organized Gaza uprising against their own Hamas leadership seems unlikely at this point, the terror group continues its war crimes against their own civilians. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht in his Substack account said Hamas has not only used blockades to keep Gaza civilians from fleeing the war zone in Gaza’s north, they have even shot at Palestinian civilians attempting to leave. He also included declassified information showing Hamas firing from a hospital, as well as having military tunnels and command posts under a hospital.
Meanwhile, Israel’s open threats against the Hamas leader continue as Gallant said the IDF operation has already taken out a dozen Hamas battalion commanders. “We will reach everyone, the chain of command and the terrorists in the field,” said Gallant, whose comments were published and translated into English in an Israeli press release.
As international calls for a ceasefire grow, Gallant recapped a conversation with IDF soldiers who told him they “want to fight until we achieve a victory. We came from Israel and from abroad, some of us arrived in the first day [of the war] and some not long ago. We will stay here until this war ends in victory. It could take a month, and we are prepared for it to take a year—we have no problem [with this].”
“These people filled me with both great pride and strength,” said Gallant. “These are fighters who are determined to everything [in their power] for the IDF to win and fulfill its mission.”
Israel’s top defense official did not put a timeframe on Israel’s war in Gaza, aside from noting “long days of fighting await us—it will not end in a day nor in a week.” He said that “heavy battles” occurred in Gaza on Saturday, including fighting in urban areas and with terrorists who emerge from Gaza’s infamous tunnel system. Gallant said the IDF is destroying terror hubs, communications, bunkers and tunnels.
“I believe that we are progressing well—step by step,” he said. “Many terrorists have been eliminated in battle. Hamas is suffering heavy blows and we are dismantling them—battalion by battalion.”
Turning to Israel north, Gallant said they do not want a war with Hezbollah. “At the same time,” said Gallant, “if [Hezbollah chief Hasan] Nasrallah makes the same mistake as [Hamas chief] Sinwar and drags Hezbollah into a war, this will have far-reaching effects on Lebanon. It will determine Lebanon’s fate.”
With one of the worst terror attacks in modern human history and still more than 240 kidnapped hostages in the background, Israel is pushing ahead to defeat an enemy they are openly calling “evil.”
Said Gallant, “One thing I can say to the citizens of Israel—at the end of the war there will no longer be Hamas in Gaza, there will be no security threat from the Gaza Strip to Israel, and
Israel will have complete freedom of action to carry out any security action it needs
against anyone who [threatens us].”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, November 5, 2023)