Israel’s Security Cabinet has voted to increase the military pressure on Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu announced on Sunday.
“Last night, the Security Cabinet convened and decided to increase the pressure, which was already increased, to further pound Hamas and create the optimal conditions for freeing our hostages,” the premier said in public remarks ahead of the regular Sunday meeting of the full Cabinet in Yerushalayim.
“The military pressure is working,” Netanyahu declared, according to a readout from his office. “It’s working because it is simultaneous: On the one hand, it is pounding Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, and on the other, [it is] creating the conditions for releasing our hostages.”
Netanyahu denounced “three false claims” that he said were constantly being made of his government “in a one continuous lie.
“One: that we are not holding negotiations. This is incorrect. We are holding them under fire; therefore, they are also effective,” said Netanyahu, adding, “Suddenly, we see that there are cracks.”
The second lie being peddled was that Israel was unwilling to discuss the final stage of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, he said.
“We are willing,” said the premier. “Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave. We will see to the general security in the Gaza Strip and will allow the realization of the Trump plan for voluntary migration. … We are not hiding this and are ready to discuss it any time.”
The third claim Netanyahu denounced as a lie was that his government does not care about the fate of the 59 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
“We speak in depth and feel their pain, which is immense. This claim— that we do not care—echoes Hamas propaganda. This is what Hamas puts in its videos with the goal of creating internal discord,” he said.
Netanyahu added, “We are committed to returning the hostages, and we are working to return them. As of today, the combination of military and diplomatic pressure is the only thing that has returned the hostages.”
‘Operation Strength and Sword’
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff sought to extend the ceasefire in Gaza through the Ramadan and Passover holidays, during which time Hamas would release 11 living hostages and half of the corpses of captives it holds. Israel endorsed Witkoff’s proposed outline, but Hamas did not.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces resumed military activity against Hamas on the morning of March 18. The renewed IDF campaign in the Gaza Strip has officially been named “Operation Strength and Sword.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on March 26 that while Jerusalem was still seeking a renewed deal, it won’t “wait forever.”
“Israel will no longer tolerate the ongoing threat to its security and civilians from Gaza,” the top diplomat stated.
In addition to renewing military operations in Gaza, which he described as “limited for now,” Israel is still conducting talks “aimed at reaching an agreement to extend the ceasefire and release the hostages,” he added.
In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu also addressed other fronts in the ongoing seven-front war, including threats from Lebanon and Yemen.
Regarding Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group, which launched another missile attack at Israel on Sunday morning, Netanyahu praised the “the actions of our ally” the United States in the southern Arabian country, adding that the American military was dealing with the Houthi threat “very forcefully.”
“Of course, we are acting to defend ourselves, as has happened recently. But the fact that the U.S. has gone in there vigorously is a major change,” the prime minister said, adding, “We always appreciate alliances. We have an alliance with the greatest superpower in the world, which is lining up behind us there, and in other arenas, without reservation, and with the full appreciation of the citizens and the government of Israel.”
In Lebanon, the IDF continues its “very aggressive enforcement, without compromise” against violations of the truce with Beirut by Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists, Netanyahu said.
“The Lebanese state is responsible for what emanates from its territory, and it needs to see to it that nothing does, that attacks against the State of Israel do not emanate from its territory. We respect the Lebanese state and its military; therefore, we demand from them the things that you demand from someone you respect,” concluded the prime minister.
The ongoing wars on the Jewish state’s borders were prompted by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of some 1,200 people, mainly Jewish civilians, and kidnapping of 251 others. In the days following the largest one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, other Iranian proxy organizations joined in with attacks in support of Hamas.
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