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Netanyahu: For Israel, Every Civilian Death Is a Tragedy; for Hamas, Every Civilian Death Is a Strategy

(Prime Minister's Office) On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC Conference in Washington by video link. I deeply appreciate the support we've received from President Biden and the administration and I hope it will continue. But let me be clear, Israel will win this war no matter what. To win this war, we must destroy the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. If not, Hamas will regroup, rearm and reconquer Gaza and then we're back to square one. That's an intolerable threat that we cannot accept. We will destroy Hamas, free our hostages, and ensure that Gaza doesn't ever pose a threat to Israel again. We will finish the job in Rafah while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm's way. We've taken measures to minimize civilian casualties that no other army has taken in history. To our friends in the international community, I say this: you cannot say you support Israel's right to exist and to defend itself and then oppose Israel when it exercises that right. You cannot say you support Israel's goal of destroying Hamas and then oppose Israel when it takes the actions necessary to achieve that goal. You cannot say that you oppose Hamas' strategy of using civilians as human shields and then blame Israel for the civilian casualties that result from this cynical Hamas strategy. For Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. For Hamas, every civilian death is a strategy. So it is wrong and immoral to hold Israel to a standard for avoiding civilian casualties that no other country on earth is held to.
2024-03-13 00:00:00
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