In a statement ahead of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, which marks six months since the start of the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “one step away from victory.” He said that 19 of Hamas’ 24 battalions have been destroyed. Does that mean the war is at its end?

“Today we mark six months since the war began… We eliminated 19 out of 24 of the Hamas battalions, including their senior commanders. We killed, wounded, or captured a significant number of Hamas terrorists… We destroyed their factories manufacturing rockets, weapons, ammunition,” the prime minister said according to a report by RT. 

The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7th of last year with a surprise Hamas raid that claimed the lives of an estimated 1,200 Israelis and saw the capture of more than 200 hostages. Netanyahu immediately declared war on the militant group and vowed to eradicate it. As a result, due to the density of Gaza’s population, over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on the enclave in the following months, with much of the area razed to the ground.

In his speech, however, he did not say that the war would be winding down. In fact, he eluded to the opposite. “There is no war more just than this war, and we are determined to finish it with complete victory. To return all those who were abducted, complete the elimination of Hamas in the entire Gaza Strip, including Rafah, and ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he stated.

It can be assumed that this conflict is going to continue as Netanyahu seeks to eliminate what is left of Hamas.

Israeli and Hamas delegations held ceasefire negotiations brokered by Egypt and Qatar on Sunday in Cairo. According to a report on Al Arabiya TV channel, Hamas’ demands included Israel dropping plans to persecute and eliminate its leaders once the fighting in Gaza stops, as well as a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Netanyahu called these demands “extreme” and said Israel will not “surrender to them,” as, according to him, they may “endanger our citizens and our soldiers” in the future. RT

Most of the planet wants to see an end to war starting with a ceasefire. Not just this war, but the one in Ukraine too.