Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a brief update Monday afternoon on Israel's war against Hamas, vowing that "any base from which Hamas operates will turn to rubble."
Netanyahu's speech began with some descriptions of the horrors Hamas inflicted on innocents:
"This war was forced upon us by a dreaded enemy, animals that kill men, women, children, and the elderly. Children handcuffed that were executed with the rest of their families. Young people were shot in the back, executed, and other horrors that I will not describe here."
Netanyahu warned that several Hamas combatants are still within Israel, but that Israeli forces are working around the clock to root them out and eliminate the threat.
He also said that Hamas is ISIS, and made a chilling promise:
"We have always known what Hamas was all about. Now the entire world knows. Hamas is ISIS, and we will beat them just like the western world has beaten ISIS. This terrible enemy wanted a war, and it will receive a war.
"I promise you, dear citizens, at the end of the war all of our enemies will know it was a terrible mistake to attack Israel. What we will do to our enemy in the next few days will echo for generations."
Since Israel has formally declared war on Hamas, which is the governing body in Gaza and operates according to a charter, Israel can attack Hamas outposts in other countries. Netanyahu's words should be taken as a public warning to countries harboring Hamas leaders and operatives, according to U.S. intelligence community sources speaking to RedState on condition of anonymity; private diplomatic conversations regarding the same have already taken place.
Netanyahu said that he is in constant communication with the Biden administration and thanked the United States for its support.
Reports that Egyptian officials warned Netanyahu about the pending attacks are utterly false, Netanyahu said in his remarks, echoing a statement his office released earlier Monday.
Since Netanyahu's remarks were given in Hebrew, multiple translations have appeared online. To clear up any confusion, Netanyahu posted a long message and brief video - in English - on social media. His full post reads:
Israel is at war.
We didn’t want this war. It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way.
But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it.
Once, the Jewish people were stateless.
Once, the Jewish people were defenseless.
No longer.
Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they have made a mistake of historic proportions. We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come.
The savage attacks that Hamas perpetrated against innocent Israelis are mindboggling: slaughtering families in their homes, massacring hundreds of young people at an outdoor festival, kidnapping scores of women, children and elderly, even Holocaust survivors.
Hamas terrorists bound, burned and executed children. They are savages.
Hamas is ISIS. And just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of civilization must support Israel in defeating Hamas.
I want to thank President Biden for his unequivocal support. I want to thank leaders across the world who are standing with Israel today. I want to thank the people and Congress of the United States of America.
In fighting Hamas, Israel is not only fighting for its own people. It is fighting for every country that stands against barbarism. Israel will win this war, and when Israel wins, the entire civilized world wins.
Watch his English video here:
A senior Hamas official said Monday that the group is open to discussions with Israel over a possible truce in the three-day-old war as it has "achieved its targets." Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, told Reuters that the terrorist organization is open to “something of that sort” and “all political dialogues.” In a separate statement to Al Jazeera, Marzouk said:
We are open to any mediations or political dialogues, and what we have achieved is a step forward. Palestinians can not breach the Egyptian borders anymore as it happened in the past. The myth of the invincible Israeli army has fallen. We appreciate the stance of our brothers in Qatar regarding the current situation. Russia has had an honorable stance in the Security Council and has been in contact with us regarding our position. The Americans cannot impose calm at the moment due to the humiliation Israel has faced.
Ironically, this statement came at about the same time a Hamas military leader was pledging to execute a hostage on camera each time an Israeli strike hits "innocent civilians" in Gaza (As Hamas Threatens to Kill Hostages on Camera, Joe Biden Calls a Lid), and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was promising deserved retribution for the murder of innocents over the weekend, saying, "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”
I think the best interpretation of this offer is that Marzouk is either wishcasting and trying to make the pain stop, or he's declaring victory for domestic and regional consumption and trying to make the "Zionist entity" the bad guy for turning down a truce.
Given the horrendous conduct of the armed mob of psychopaths and sexual degenerates, Hamas unleashed on Israeli civilians, I can't see anyone in Tel Aviv in the mood for a truce.