Israel is fighting for its existence, ground operation in Gaza soon: Netanyahu

Israel is in the midst of a fight for its existence and preparations are underway for a ground incursion into Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said and added that "all Hamas members are dead men walking".

In an address to the nation on Wednesday evening, he stressed that the two main goals of the war were "to eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governance capabilities, and to do everything possible to get our captives home".

Seeking national unity, the prime minister said that, "Israel is in the midst of a fight for our existence." "All Hamas members are dead men walking — above and below ground, inside and outside Gaza," Netanyahu said.

Together with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, the Security Cabinet, the Chief-of-Staff and heads of the security organisations, "we are working round the clock in order to achieve the aims of the war until victory, and doing so without political considerations," he said. The goals are "saving the nation, achieving victory", Netanyahu said and added that "we are raining down hellfire on Hamas, and we have already eliminated thousands of terrorists – and this is only the beginning".

On speculation about an imminent ground operation in Gaza, the Israeli leader said that it was coming but he would not share when or how. "We are preparing for a ground incursion. I won't specify when, how, how many. I also won’t detail the range of considerations, most of which the public is not aware of. And that's the way it is supposed to be. This is the way, so that we protect our soldiers' lives," Netanyahu said.

Israel has drafted 350,000-400,000 soldiers for a ground operation in Gaza since the dastardly attacks on its southern communities on October 7. "I would like to be clear. The timing of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) action will be determined unanimously by the War Cabinet, together with the IDF Chief-of-Staff. Together with the Security Cabinet, we are working to ensure the optimal conditions for our soldiers in the coming actions," Netanyahu said. "When we go into Gaza, in the continuation of the fighting, we will exact the full price from the murderers, those perpetrators of atrocities", he said and equated Hamas with Daesh (ISIS).