Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit Thursday to soldiers on the front lines in Rafah, Gaza, where they have been hunting Hamas terrorists, above and below ground, and consolidating their control of the border.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with troops in Rafah, Gaza, July 18, 2024 (Avi Ohayon / OU(
The prime minister received a briefing at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) field headquarters, observed the Gaza-Egypt border along the road known as the Philadelphi Corridor, and spoke directly with elite Givati Brigade commandos.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Givati Brigade soldiers, Rafah, Gaza, July 18, 2024 (Avi Ohayon / GPO)
His translated remarks were provided by the Prime Minister’s Office:
I am here inside Rafah with the 162nd Division, their brave commander, Itzik Cohen, and the heroic soldiers.
I was impressed by their incredible achievements, by the understanding that their operations both underground and aboveground are essential to the security of Israel, and by the understanding that our holding the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing are vital for the future.
At the same time, the military pressure that they are applying here, to the throat of Hamas, is helping us, together with the steadfast insistence on our just demands, to advance the hostages deal – including our demand to free the maximum number of hostages already in the first stage of the outline. This double pressure is not delaying the deal – it is advancing it.
Next week I am leaving for the US to address both houses of Congress. I am going to present the justice of Israel’s cause, but I am also going to present the heroism of Israel, which I see here. I see here Matan Algerbali, a commander who was wounded in the stomach in the first days of the fighting, recovered, came back, and is a battalion commander here.
And I see the soldiers here, who are fighting in the field, the logistics personnel, the doctors; it is hard to believe what is happening here. This is the pride of the people of Israel. With such spirit, we will achieve the total victory.
Netanyahu wanted to enter Rafah to take on the last Hamas terror battalions as early as February, but President Joe Biden publicly opposed a “major operation” there.
Netanyahu decided to go ahead anyway in early May, supported by the majority of Israelis, left and right. The Biden White House, embarrassed, claimed that Israel was not conducting a “major operation,” though the IDF was slowly taking over Rafah, neighborhood by neighborhood.
One million Palestinian civilians were estimated to have evacuated Rafah prior to the Israeli attack on Hamas positions in the town, helping lower civilian casualties from an already historically low civilian-to-terrorist ratio.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
