The capture of the Rafah crossing and Israel’s military operation in general is an important step towards the dissolution of Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized in his speech earlier.

Netanyahu estimated that military pressure on Hamas is a necessary condition for the return of the prisoners.

As for the truce proposal that Hamas accepts but Israel rejects, he said it “falls far short of Israel’s basic demands.”

He added that the aforementioned proposal for a ceasefire “was aimed at sabotaging the entry of our forces into Rafa”.

“But that didn’t happen,” he emphasized.

“The operation in Rafah is intended to bring back the hostages and eliminate Hamas. We have already proven in the previous hostage release that military pressure on Hamas is a condition for the return of the hostages,” he summarized.