Jerusalem:

Israel’s high military spokesman stated Wednesday that Hamas can’t be eradicated, prompting a knee-jerk response from the federal government which shortly reiterated it stays dedicated to the Palestinian militant group’s destruction.

Greater than eight months of warfare, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 assault on Israel, have did not oust the Islamist militants from Gaza however have introduced widespread devastation.

“To say that we’re going to make Hamas disappear is to throw sand in individuals’s eyes. If we do not present an alternate, in the long run, we could have Hamas,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari informed Israel’s Channel 13 broadcaster.

“Hamas is an ideology, we can not get rid of an ideology.”

His feedback have been shortly rebuffed by the workplace of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose cupboard has said its Gaza offensive won’t finish till Hamas is defeated.

“The political and safety cupboard headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined as one of many targets of the warfare the destruction of Hamas’ army and governmental capabilities,” his workplace stated in a press release.

“The IDF is in fact dedicated to this.”

In a separate assertion on its Telegram channel, the army clarified that Hagari had addressed Hamas “as an ideology… and his statements have been clear and specific”.

“Another declare is taking the assertion out of context.”

The October 7 assault that triggered the warfare resulted within the deaths of 1,194 individuals in Israel, largely civilians, in line with an AFP tally based mostly on Israeli official figures.

The militants additionally seized 251 hostages. Of those, 116 stay in Gaza, though the military says 41 are lifeless.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive aimed toward eliminating Hamas has killed at the least 37,396 individuals in Gaza, additionally largely civilians, in line with the Hamas-run territory’s well being ministry.

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)