Netanyahu: We are close to eliminating the capabilities of the Palestinian factions in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday, Monday, that Israel is approaching the stage of eliminating Palestinian military capabilities within the framework of the genocidal war that the Israeli army has been waging on the besieged Gaza Strip for 269 days, while Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced that the Israeli army needs 10,000 additional soldiers immediately, while Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warned that Netanyahu intends to dismiss the attorney general to resolve his crisis with the Haredim, calling for a strike and escalation in the street in order to dismiss the government, while the release of the director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex sparked controversy and a great uproar in Israeli political and military circles, which prompted Netanyahu to evade responsibility and issue an order to conduct an immediate investigation into the issue of releasing the prisoners.

Netanyahu said during his meeting with trainees of the National Security College in his office in Jerusalem, “I returned Sunday from a tour of the Gaza Division, and I saw very great achievements in the fighting taking place in Rafah. We are advancing toward the end of the phase of eliminating the Hamas army, and there will be a continuation of striking its remnants,” he claimed. Israel has previously indicated that its operation in Rafah is nearing its end. Its officials said that after the end of the intensive phase of the war, the forces will focus on smaller-scale operations aimed at preventing the Palestinian factions from reorganizing their ranks. Israeli media outlets revealed that estimates indicate that the announcement of the end of the war in its current form will take place within 10 days. Israeli Channel 13 reported that estimates indicate that the announcement of the end of the war in its current form will take place within 10 days, after which the Israeli army will move to the third phase of the war, and negotiations will begin for a settlement on the northern border with Lebanon. Channel 13 quoted an official as saying: “The war will not end… and we will move wherever there is intelligence information about Hamas activity.”

For his part, Galant said that the army needs 10,000 additional soldiers immediately, indicating that it is possible to absorb 3,000 Haredi recruits. During the discussions in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Galant referred to the broad outlines for recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews, and said that “at the present time, the Israeli army can absorb 3,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews, for whom a special department will be established, and another 3,000 next year.”

In contrast, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said at the start of a meeting of his Yesh Atid party faction in the Knesset on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, “and they are not hiding it and trial balloons have been launched.” Lapid called for a strike and escalation in the streets, stressing that the only solution to get Israel out of its current crisis is through early elections.

On the other hand, the Israeli Army Radio said that Netanyahu disavowed his responsibility for the release of the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, noting that “the decision came after discussions in the Supreme Court and the identity of those released is determined by the security forces.” The Maariv newspaper quoted Netanyahu’s office as saying that the decision to release the prisoners came after discussions in the Supreme Court regarding a petition against the detention of prisoners in the “Sdei Yaman” detention center. It added that the identification of the released prisoners is done independently by security officials based on their professional considerations. The Israel Hayom newspaper quoted Netanyahu’s office as saying that the prime minister “ordered an immediate investigation into the issue of releasing the prisoners,” and Defense Minister Yoav Galant claimed that he “did not know about the release of the director of Al-Shifa Hospital… The procedures for detaining and releasing prisoners are subject to the Shin Bet and are not subject to the approval of the Defense Minister.” The Shin Bet published the order to release the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, saying that “the Israeli army and the Shin Bet made the decision.” Commenting on the release of the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, the Shin Bet explained that the release of less dangerous prisoners was due to prison overcrowding, and said: “For about a year, the General Security Service has been warning in writing and verbally about the ordeal of detention and the need to increase the number of detention places. Yesterday, the Israeli army released about 50 Palestinian prisoners, including the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, who had been arrested during its ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

For his part, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya accused Israel of “torture” after his release following more than seven months of detention. In his first statement following his release, Abu Salmiya confirmed during a press conference that “prisoners are subjected to all kinds of torture… Many prisoners have died in interrogation centers.” Abu Salmiya said that he was not charged with any crime during his detention. Regarding the situation of prisoners in Israeli prisons, Abu Salmiya said: “A crime is being committed against prisoners. Dozens of prisoners are suffering physical and psychological torture. Some of them were martyred in interrogation cells.” He added, “They attacked us with police dogs, batons, and beatings. They took away our mattresses and blankets.” According to Abu Salmiya, “For two months, none of the prisoners ate more than one loaf of bread a day.” (Agencies)