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Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

The 37th Government
20.03.2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today [translated from Hebrew]:

"Citizens of Israel, here is a brief update on my most recent conversation with US President Joe Biden

At the beginning, we agreed that Hamas needs to be eliminated. But during the war, it is no secret, there have been disagreements between us on the best way to achieve this goal.

At the outset, I told the President: It is impossible to defeat Hamas without the IDF entering the Gaza Strip. In our latest conversation, I told him: It is impossible to complete the victory without the IDF entering Rafah in order to eliminate the remnants of Hamas's battalions.

I want you to know that I have already approved the IDF's operational plan, and soon we will also approve the plan to evacuate the civilian population from the battle zones.

President Biden, whose support I appreciate, asked to present us with the proposals from his side in the humanitarian sphere, and also on other topics.

And as I have said - there have been times when we have agreed with our friends, and there have been times when we have not agreed with them. In the end, we have always done what is vital for our security, and this is what we will do this time as well.

As we are preparing to enter Rafah, and this will take a little time, we are continuing to operate with full force. We are continuing to operate in Khan Yunis, in the camps in the center, in eliminating and capturing senior Hamas officials as we have just done in Shifa, and in eliminating hundreds of terrorists.

As I have promised you time and again, we are determined to achieve total victory, and we will achieve it."