AKIPRESS.COM - The main goal of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip is to defeat the radical movement Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"We have many goals; we want to bring the 59 hostages back, but the supreme goal of the war is to achieve victory over our enemy," he pointed out at an event marking Independence Day.

On March 18, the Israeli military resumed military operations in Gaza, carrying out intensive strikes on the enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the move was due to Hamas’s rejection of proposals put forward by mediators and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff. According to the Israeli authorities, the goal of the operation is to ensure the release of all hostages held in Gaza. Hamas, in turn, blamed Israel and the US for the resumption of military activities.

According to the latest data from Israel, the radicals currently hold 24 hostages and the bodies of 35 captives in the Gaza Strip.