Israel has destroyed around two thirds of Hamas' fighting regiments in Gaza.
"There are two stages to the fighting" © Mena Today
Israel has destroyed around two thirds of Hamas' fighting regiments in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, vowing to press on with the war until "complete victory."
"There are two stages to the fighting; The first is destroying the Hamas regiments, those are their organised combat frameworks," Netanyahu said at a news conference in Tel Aviv.
"Up until now sixteen or seventeen out of twenty four have been destroyed. After that there is the (stage) of clearing the territory (of militants). The first action is usually shorter, the second usually takes longer."
Holding up a photo of a fallen Israeli soldier, Netanyahu said troops will not have died in vain and pledged fighting would continue until Hamas has been defeated and the hostages in Gaza recovered.
"Victory will take many more months but we are determined to achieve it," Netanyahu said.
Reporting by Maayan Lubell
An apparent drone attack - claimed by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia - hit central Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday, killing one man and slightly wounding four others, the Israeli military and emergency services said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his U.S. counterpart that military operations in the Gaza Strip have created conditions that would enable a hostage deal to be reached, Gallant's office said on Wednesday.
A meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Middle East was briefly interrupted on Wednesday when two protesters stood with signs and yelled for the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.