Israeli military spokesman’s Hamas defeat remarks widen rift with Netanyahu

from al Jazeera

Israel’s military spokesman has exposed a widening rift between the country’s political and army leadership, questioning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of destroying Hamas in the Gaza Strip for the war to end.

After nine months of war in which more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the name of eliminating the armed group that governs the besieged enclave, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13 broadcaster on Wednesday that the task was impossible and simply “wrong”.

“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear – it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” he said. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people – whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”

Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Netanyahu’s office was “fuming” at Hagari’s remarks.

“This just gives you an idea of what Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies are in this war, and the army on the ground saying it is actually not realistic,” she added...

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Hagari’s acknowledgment of Hamas invincibility attests to Israel’s defeat in Gaza: Official

from PressTV

A senior Hamas official says remarks by Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on the impossibility of eliminating the Palestinian resistance group shows that the regime has failed in its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas' political bureau, made the remarks on Wednesday after Hagari admitted that the declared aim of destroying Hamas is unattainable.

He described Hagari’s remarks as “a bitter confession and proof of the occupying enemy’s failure in the war on Gaza.”

The Hamas official also said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu still persists in continuing the aggression despite knowing that it is “futile and will lead nowhere.”

“The Zionist regime knows that it cannot destroy Hamas even by dropping hundreds of tons of explosives on the people of Gaza,” he added.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 news, Hagari said, “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong,” noting that anyone promising this is “throwing sand in the face of the Israeli public."...

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