Israeli President Vows to ‘Take Over Entire Gaza Strip’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks to reporters about his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on July 18, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The president of Israel has vowed to conquer the Gaza Strip, destroy Hamas, and sort out peace between Israelis and Palestinians at a later date.

Now that Israeli forces had “completed the total conquest” of key areas in northern Gaza, it would move to subdue the entire territory, said Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

“Now this has to end,” Mr. Herzog said during a Dec. 19 interview with the Atlantic Council think tank.

“We intend to take over the entire Gaza Strip and to change the course of history.”

Mr. Herzog said that there would be “many alternatives” as to what would ultimately happen to Gaza after the war. But, he added, Israel would only allow reconstruction of the territory after it had asserted total control.

“Only Israel can make sure that terror will not emanate again and again and again from that area,” Mr. Herzog said.

When asked about the feasibility of a two-state solution in which an independent Israel and Palestine both exist, Mr. Herzog suggested that there was no trust between Israelis and Palestinians at present, saying, “Nobody believes it’s feasible.”

Israel Calls for Pause After Troops Kill Hostages

Despite his commitment to continuing Israel’s war in Gaza, Mr. Herzog also demanded that the Hamas terror group accept a pause in hostilities to allow for a second round of hostage exchanges.

The demand follows an incident in Gaza last week in which Israeli soldiers killed three Israeli hostages who were trying to flee Hamas.

Several reports suggest that the hostages were shirtless, speaking Hebrew, and carrying a white flag when Israeli soldiers opened fire, though the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not publicly confirmed or denied the claim at this time.

Mr. Herzog said the incident would need to be “studied” with a formal “inquiry.” He suggested that the troops did not know who the hostages were and that Hamas fighters had previously disguised themselves as hostages.

“This is a tragedy that is extremely painful to all of us,” Mr. Herzog said. “In a split second, we could have celebrated three heroes who managed to come back home.

“When you’re at war, and the circumstances are that you act by immediate seconds … when they saw some people walking out, they misunderstood who they were.”

Mr. Herzog said that whatever had happened, the responsibility for the tragedy was on Hamas, whose leadership he described as “murderous,” “psychopathic,” and “evil.”

To that end, he said that he trusted the IDF to conduct itself well and that the incident could not be judged harshly.

“You can’t judge. You can say it’s a huge tragedy and a major mistake, and make sure to check yourself before you take such action again.

“I trust the army that they’ll do whatever they can that it won’t occur [again].”

Mr. Herzog said that 129 hostages were still being held by Hamas in Gaza, including infants.

“We want to bring the hostages back.

“We will do whatever it takes through various means to bring them back home.”

Israel Blames Hamas for Skyrocketing Civilian Deaths

Mr. Herzog’s comments come as Israel faces increased scrutiny from the international community regarding its apparent disregard for civilian life in Gaza.

To date, IDF officials have acknowledged that its forces have killed more than 15,000 people in Gaza, with roughly 10,000 of those killed being civilians, including women and children.

Israel has also faced pushback for repeatedly urging Gazans to flee their homes in the north to refugee camps in the south of Gaza, which it then bombed.

Mr. Herzog acknowledged that the Israeli government had “clamped down dramatically” at home as well, and was using legal mechanisms to arrest Israeli citizens in the West Bank without due process.

The president said that the severity of the military and political operations was due to the “major national trauma” inflicted by Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of some 1,200 Israeli civilians.

When pressed on the cost to civilian life in Israel’s operations, Mr. Herzog said responsibility for the deaths rested on Hamas.

“The responsibility lies on the other side,” he said.

“We don’t intend to stop our attack on Hamas in order to undermine [their] military capabilities. ... We intend to change the course of history.

“If they refuse to go into any negotiations on hostage release and exchange, we will continue as such with no limitations.”