Once thought to be essential for containing them, the Hamas fighters were positioned near the Gaza border.
As tens of thousands of Gazans returned to what was left of their houses in the north on Monday, eight highly armed men wearing what appeared to be immaculate military uniforms and the green headbands that are emblematic of Hamas perched atop concrete blocks at the Netzarim corridor. The warriors shook hands, gave water to onlookers, and took photographs while carrying their AK-47s strapped to their vests and covering their faces.
The fighters’ presence at a crossing considered essential for preventing Hamas from entering the northern part of Gaza, as seen and captured on camera by an NBC News crew in Gaza, raises serious concerns about one of Israel’s declared goals in starting the war: to destroy the militant organization responsible for the worst terrorist attack in Israeli history.
Since Hamas massacred 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages in its unexpected onslaught on October 7, 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made repeated promises to crush the organization. He loosened the goal to overthrow the insurgents’ hold on power more recently.
We established three war objectives. The first was to eliminate Hamas’s governmental and military capabilities on September 4. The release of our hostages was the second. The third was to guarantee that Israel would never again be threatened by Gaza.