Israel’s top army spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Hamas cannot be eliminated, stating that “Hamas is an ideology, we cannot eliminate an ideology.” He made these comments on Israel’s Channel 13 broadcaster, prompting a response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, which reiterated the government’s commitment to destroying Hamas.
More than eight months of war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, have failed to oust the militants from Gaza but have caused widespread devastation. The conflict resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and the seizure of 251 hostages by Hamas, 116 of whom remain in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office stated that the Gaza offensive will continue until Hamas is defeated, with the goal of destroying the group’s military and governmental capabilities. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reaffirmed its commitment to this goal in a separate statement on its Telegram channel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza, aimed at eliminating Hamas, has resulted in the deaths of at least 37,396 people, mostly civilians according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. Hagari’s statements were clarified by the IDF, specifying that he was referring to Hamas “as an ideology” and that any other interpretation would be taking his words out of context.
