Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday, pledged victory and claimed that his country’s military has “drastically changed the situation” since Hamas’s October 7 attack, which has led Israel to fight on two fronts.
Netanyahu addressed troops, stating that Israel “will win” as it continues to engage militants in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, while also preparing for a potential conflict with Iran, almost a year after the unprecedented assault by Palestinian Hamas militants triggered the Gaza conflict.
Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said that, one year on, “we have defeated the military wing of Hamas”.
Netanyahu had vowed to “crush… and destroy” the militants when the conflict began last October, but troops have returned to various parts of Gaza where they had previously targeted Hamas, only to discover the militants regrouping.
In late September Israel turned its focus north, intensifying military action against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which had been routinely sending rockets over the border from Lebanon in support of Hamas.
“A year ago, we suffered a terrible blow. Over the past 12 months, we have completely transformed reality,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the Lebanon border, according to his office.
Hamas on Sunday called the October 7 attack “glorious” and said the Palestinians were “writing a new history with their resistance”.
Their attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity. Dozens of other hostages are still held.
At last 370 people were killed at one location alone, the Nova rave in the Negev desert, which was commemorated with candles, prayer and music in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
