Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that “enough” of the 132 Israeli hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip are alive to justify continued Israeli efforts to try to secure their release.

Asked by ABC News how many Israeli hostages were still alive, Benjamin Netanyahu said “enough to justify the efforts we are making,” News.ro reported.

“We will try to do everything possible to bring back all the living and, frankly, the bodies of the dead,” he said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.”

“I’m not sure anyone can put themselves in the shoes of families, but families can’t put themselves in the shoes of decision makers either. These are two separate things. They reach our heart. They reach my heart. But I am also responsible for the safety of the Israeli people and for ensuring that these terrorist attacks and kidnappings do not happen again,” Netanyahu explained.

Given the concerns of many of the hostages’ relatives, who say more can be done, an ABC News reporter asked what is the highest priority now: the complete elimination of Hamas or saving the lives of these hostages and their release?

“They are not mutually exclusive,” Netanyahu replied. The previous hostage-taking agreement was concluded only “because we used military pressure, not because we stopped using it,” Netanyahu explained, justifying the continuation of the war.

Civilian casualties are less than 1 to 1

Netanyahu also said that figures provided by Gaza authorities for casualties caused by Israeli bombardment were not reliable, and other estimates put the ratio at less than 1 to 1, meaning that for every Hamas fighter killed in Gaza, there was another. of the Palestinian civilian population, so militants die more than civilians, which is a remarkable result in such a war. Netanyahu indicated that about 20,000 “terrorists” had been killed or wounded, and about 12,000 of them were Hamas fighters, but promised that authorities would do more to avoid civilian casualties. “What we will not do – we will not allow Hamas to win this war,” the Prime Minister of Israel said.

Health authorities in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip estimate that around 28,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the region since the conflict began in October. Palestinian health authorities say that approximately 70% of those killed are women and children under the age of 18. The World Health Organization has called the Palestinian Health Ministry’s casualty reporting system “very good,” and UN agencies regularly provide data on the death toll.

Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis and took about 250 hostages in Gaza in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the conflict.

The war continues

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the continued bombing of Gaza after US President Joe Biden criticized the campaign as “exaggerated” given the dire conditions and high death toll in the Palestinian territories.

Asked about Biden’s remarks in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Netanyahu said he appreciated the president’s support so far and blamed the civilian casualties on Hamas, whose October terror attack sparked the current war. “I don’t know exactly what he meant ([Biden) prin asta, dar puneţi-vă în locul Israelului. Noi am fost atacaţi. Un atac neprovocat, un atac criminal pe 7 octombrie”, a declarat Netanyahu, adăugând: “Cred că am răspuns într-un mod care îi urmăreşte pe terorişti şi încearcă să cruţe populaţia civilă în rândul căreia teroriştii se inflitrează şi pe care o folosesc ca scut uman”.

He also said that destroying Hamas does not necessarily mean killing the last militant, but destroying the ability for them to operate again. But Netanyahu again opposed the idea of ​​a Palestinian state, saying it was impossible to imagine a Palestinian state having its own army or freely making deals with Iran. Therefore, the prime minister explained, Israel must take care of the security of the Gaza Strip even after the end of the war.

Back to the broken north

Israel’s operations in Gaza are focused mainly on Rafah, a southern city on the border with Egypt that is currently estimated to be home to around 1.4 million Palestinians. Netanyahu said that while Israeli forces battle Hamas in Rafah, civilians will be able to flee back to the north, where much of the infrastructure has already been destroyed by the war.

“They live in tents. Where will these people go?” asked the producer of the show.

“There are many areas in the areas that we have cleared north of Rafah. But we are developing a detailed plan for this. And that’s what we’ve done so far. This is part of our military effort to protect civilians from danger,” Netanyahu said.

Noting that the Biden administration and the Egyptians are among those warning of serious humanitarian consequences if Israel targets Rafah, Netanyahu said Israel has no choice: “Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah , essentially they are saying, let’s lose the war, let’s continue Hamas there,” he noted. “Victory is near. This must be understood,” the prime minister added. “And victory will be the best thing that will happen not only for Israel, but also for the Palestinians. I see no future for the Palestinians or for peace in the Middle East if Hamas wins,” the prime minister said.

Netanyahu did not mention Biden’s memory loss

Given Netanyahu’s long relationship with the US president, the reporter also asked the Israeli prime minister about a recent report by special counsel Robert Gur describing President Biden’s apparent memory problems.

“I had more than 12 phone conversations, extended phone conversations, with President Biden. He also visited Israel during the war, which was the first in history, and I found him very clear and very focused,” Netanyahu said. “We were able to agree on the goals of the war and a lot of things. Sometimes we had disagreements, but they were not caused by misunderstandings on his or my part. Here’s what I can tell you. So I haven’t seen anything like that,” Netanyahu assured.