In a highly charged speech on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a direct link between the current conflict with Hamas and the Arab-Israeli War of 1947-1949, which took place when Israel declared its independence.
"The war inside Gaza will be long. This is our second struggle for independence. We will save our country," Netanyahu said. He added that the second stage of the war against Hamas had begun, with the objective of destroying the armed wing and the government of the group, as well as bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
"Our heroic fighters have only one goal: to destroy this enemy and ensure the existence of our country. Never again. 'Never again' is now," Netanyahu said at a press conference on Saturday.
Regarding the hostages, Netanyahu also confirmed that he had spoken to the families of the hostages held by Hamas and promised to exhaust all options to bring them home.
At the same media briefing, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the escalation of the assault would increase the chances that Hamas would agree to return the hostages it is holding in Gaza.
"As we hit the enemies harder, there's a better chance they'll agree to solutions to get their loved ones back," Gallant said.
Still, the expansion of ground operations has alarmed the hostages' families, with a lobby group saying on Saturday that their loved ones face "absolute uncertainty over the fate of the hostages held (in Gaza), who have also been subjected to intense shelling."
"Anxiety, frustration and especially enormous anger that no one in the war cabinet has met with the families of the hostages to explain one thing - whether the ground operation endangers the welfare of the 229 hostages in Gaza," the group said in a statement.
