In the midst of the continuing Israel-Hamas conflict, Israeli government spokesperson Elyon Levy has stated that the days ahead would be long, harsh, and terrible, and that Israel will completely demolish Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with ANI, Elyon also emphasised that Israel is fighting the Hamas and not the Palestinians in Gaza. "The days ahead are going to be long, they're going to be difficult. They're going to be hard, because this isn't another round of conflict. This isn't another round where Hamas will fire rockets, Israel will launch airstrikes and then everything will calm down after a few days. Hamas declared war on us, Hamas declared war with the worst terrorist attack in world history since 9/11. And so we're going to totally dismantle Hamas in the Gaza Strip. That is our goal in this war, total victory over Hamas", he stated.
Eylon reiterated that Israel is going after every Hamas facility while doing everything possible to minimise civilian losses, even on the Palestinian side, without speculating on operational concerns or what its forces would do.
"We are going after every single Hamas tunnel, every single Hamas rocket launcher, every single Hamas commander, every single Hamas fighter, they're all legitimate targets...They all represent a clear and immediate danger to the security of our friends and family. And we are going after them in order to destroy them while doing everything we can to minimize civilian casualties, including on the Palestinian side as well", he was quoted by ANI in its report.
'We Appreciate India's Support'
Regarding India's support during the crisis, Eylon expressed gratitude and expressed a desire for greater diplomatic assistance from friends and allies. He also indicated that he would have preferred India to vote against the UN decision. India refrained from voting at the UN General Assembly on Friday (local time) on a draught resolution filed by Jordan that called for an urgent humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict since it made no reference of the terrorist group Hamas.
"We appreciate India's support. Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Netanyahu have spoken. Clearly in the UN resolution on Friday, we would have wanted India to vote against. It was an outrageous resolution. It didn't mention Hamas. It didn't call for an immediate return of the hostages. It's like having a UN resolution three weeks after 9/11 and not mentioning al Qaeda or the Twin Towers being brought down by plane strikes. So, we appreciate the support of international friends that are standing by Israel side and want Israel to defeat Hamas. And we want more of that diplomatic support, especially from our friends and allies", said Eylon.
'We Are Fighting Against Hamas, Not Palestinians And Gaza'
Concerning civilian fatalities in Gaza, Elyon emphasised unequivocally that Israel is conducting a war against Hamas, not Palestinians or Gaza. He also stated that Israel takes its responsibility to keep people safe extremely seriously.
"This is a war we're fighting against Hamas, not against the Palestinians not against Gaza, against the terror group that waged war on us with the October 7 massacre. Now we take very seriously our obligations to get civilians out of harm's way. That's why two and a half weeks ago, the Israeli Army gave people in northern Gaza 24 hours to evacuate for their own safety that 24 hours has since become two and a half weeks. And that's because northern Gaza is where Hamas has embedded itself under civilian areas. It is using civilians as human shields", said Eylon.
'239 Hostages In Gaza'
Concerning the hostages taken captive by Hamas, Eylon stressed that his government will do all necessary to return the hostages home. In a harrowing portrayal of Hamas captives, Eylon revealed that there are "at least 239 hostages in Gaza," many of them are youngsters between the ages of ten and five.
"At the moment, we know of at least 239 hostages in Gaza, I say at least, because we still have many missing persons, and we don't know whether they were abducted or whether Hamas simply destroyed their bodies. 239 innocent people, including 33 children under the age of 10, including 10 children under the age of five. There are children inside the Gaza Strip. Babies, their parents were murdered in front of them they were ripped out of their parents' arms, and now they're being held in a dark tunnel in Gaza. by terrorists", detailed Eylon.
"We are going to do everything, we can to bring our hostages home. We are fighting this war with two goals, one to bring back our stolen children, to make sure that Hamas can never steal our children again. And those two goals go hand in hand. We're sending our men in. We're going to do everything we can to bring back the hostages and we're going to make sure that when this war ends, there is no longer a jihadi organization in the Gaza strip that can abduct our people ever again", he added.
'Hamas Released 4 Hostages Because Of Pressure'
Eylon added that the four captives freed earlier by Hamas were released due to "Israeli military pressure and international diplomatic pressure."
"Hamas released four hostages, and they did it because of pressure. They did it because of Israeli military pressure and international diplomatic pressure. And we're calling on the world all of Israel's friends around the world, including in India, to put all pressure on Hamas and all pressure on its supporters to release our hostages immediately because there is no excuse, no excuse for abducting children from their beds and holding them for three weeks as hostages in a dark tunnel in the Gaza Strip", said Eylon.
Since the October 7 raid, Hamas has kidnapped and hauled approximately 200 individuals from Israeli border villages across the Gaza Strip. Among them are some immigrants and dual citizens. Israeli forces have increased their ground incursion in Gaza as part of the military response to Hamas strikes that have killed 1,400 people, largely civilians, according to authorities, with another 239 people held hostage.