Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Israel would take “powerful vengeance for this black day” on the terror group Hamas for its surprise attack on Saturday.
“What happened today has not been seen in Israel, and I will make sure that it does not happen again,” he said. “The entire government stands behind this decision.”
Saying the Israel Defense Forces would employ “all its strength” to destroy Hamas’s capabilities, Netanyahu quoted from a work by Zionist poet Hayim Nahman Bialik called “On the Slaughter:”
“Revenge for the blood of a little child has yet been devised by Satan.”
Hamas killed more than 250 Israelis as it launched a massive offensive from the Gaza Strip. It sent dozens of Palestinian terrorists into Israel and fired more than 3,000 rockets in an unprecedented attack.
Netanyahu promised that Hamas would not succeed in escaping Israeli retaliation and that every place where it hides, “we will turn into a city of ruins.” He warned the residents of the city of Gaza to “leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”
Reassuring Israelis, he noted that the IDF was working to clear terrorists “town by town, house by house, and restoring our control.”
He sent his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the terrorist offensive and praised the steadfastness of Israel’s southern residents in the face of the attack.
Netanyahu also warned Hamas that they would suffer the consequences if anything happened to those they had kidnapped and brought back into the Gaza Strip. The terror group claims to be holding as many as 163 Israelis hostage in Gaza.
Netanyahu praised the bravery of the IDF soldiers, the police and the security services. “You are now fighting for the homes of all of us, for the future of all of us,” he stated.
And to those on the other frontlines, he said: “To the medical and rescue teams, and the many volunteers who came out in force today in a long list of places, the people of Israel salute you. With your spirit, we will overcome our enemies.”
He concluded by saying he had spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders to ensure “freedom of operation” for Israel. “I thank the French president, the British prime minister and many other leaders for their unreserved support for Israel,” he stated.
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(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)
