Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned anonymous sources within the IDF who told The New York Times that a ceasefire would be the best way to free the hostages, even if it meant falling short of the wartime goal to eliminate Hamas.
The Prime Minister’s office said: “I don’t know who those unnamed parties are, but I’m here to make it unequivocally clear: It won’t happen.”
The NYT article quoted 9 present and former IDF officials who recommended a break in fighting to free hostages and prepare for the opening of another front against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Netanyahu stressed, “The IDF has all the means to achieve [the goals].”
He added, “We will not succumb to defeatism, neither at The New York Times nor anywhere else. We are filled with the spirit of victory.”
