Netanyahu says war will end in months: ‘We will kill Hamas leaders - cannot end war before then’

Ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a Likud party meeting, pledging to continue fighting until all goals are achieved. 

Using a term that some opponents have said is a campaign slogan, Netanyahu said during the Monday meeting, “Our goal is total victory over Hamas.” 

He also said that Israel would eliminate Hamas leaders. 

“We will kill the Hamas leadership,” Netanyahu stated, “therefore we must continue to act in all areas in the Gaza Strip. We must not end the war before then.” 

Netanyahu seemed to revise his previous statement about how long it would take Israel to achieve its goals in the war. 

“It will take time – months, not years,” he said. 

Addressing concerns expressed by Likud and coalition members about the proposed hostage release deal, Netanyahu attempted to allay fears. 

“We have already released 110 of our abductees, we continue to act on this issue, but Hamas has demands that we will not agree to,” the prime minister said. “The key to release should be similar to the previous agreement. This attempt will not be realized at any price.” 

In the previous hostage deal, Israel freed three Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prison in exchange for every hostage released. 

Netanyahu also visited Battalion 8104 of the 179th Brigade, appearing to almost be in campaign mode. He repeated the phrase “total victory” at least 11 times during his remarks to the soldiers. 

“I am very impressed by the fighting spirit, the unity of the fighting and the purpose of the fighting,” the premier said. He also referred to a hat, he received recently with the slogan ‘Total Victory’ on it. 

“This is the essence of our policy – total victory over Hamas,” Netanyahu stated. 

He claimed that Israel has already destroyed 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions.

“We are on the way to total victory, and I want to tell you that we are committed to it, and we will not give up on it. We will not end the war without achieving this goal of total victory.” 

Netanyahu’s political spokesman Yonatan Urich recently changed his profile picture on his X account to an image with the blue and white colors of Likud with the words 'Total Victory' on it. 

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/EQ0phRCZM5

— יונתן אוריך (@jonatanu) January 28, 2024

Israeli political analysts say Netanyahu appears to be engaging in a renewed political campaign to rehabilitate his image and they believe this new slogan is part of that campaign.