Posted on 05/29/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
Tzachi Hanegbi, head of Israel's National Security Council, on Wednesday warned that the war in Gaza will last at least another seven months.
"The war will be long," Hanegbi told Kan Reshet Bet. "This year as well, we are expecting another seven months of fighting."
According to Hanegbi, the IDF now controls about 75% of the Philadelphi Corridor.
Later, Hanegbi responded to the accusations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is torpedoing a prisoner swap deal, saying, "This is a revolting thing, and it's political manipulations."
"The Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Cabinet have instructed the negotiating team to expand their mandate yet again. The other side is rigid and cruel, and Israel has been forced to erode its position - so much that the Americans are saying that our offer is very generous."
He added, "We are meeting with the families, speaking with them, it's a nightmare that can't even be described. It's hard to understand the enormity of the nightmare these families are experiencing. There are 125 people who we need to bring home, and we're dealing with that every day."
Regarding the shots fired from Tulkarem towards Bat Hefer, Hanegbi said, "The number of people injured on our side, and the number of terror attacks in central Israel, have dropped, because the IDF has enlisted a lot of forces. The military is making enormous effort with great achievements, to defeat the enemy there as well."
Hanegbi also responded to a decision by three European countries to unilaterally recognize "Palestine" as a state: "They are not our friends, they are hostile towards us. The countries which are friendly have remained committed to Israel."