Eisenkot pledges to destroy Hamas 'within 18 months of becoming prime minister' at Gaza border

Yashar, party leader and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, pledged to destroy Hamas's military wing and dismantle its leadership within 18 months of becoming prime minister while giving a briefing at the Gaza border on Thursday.

“I pledge that within 18 months of taking office as prime minister, Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip. We will destroy Hamas’s military wing," he said.

"This will happen either through action based on President Trump’s framework, which Netanyahu’s government accepted, or through the use of military and operational capabilities.”

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party stated: "How would you destroy Hamas without getting permission from your partners, Mansour [Abbas] and [Ahmed] Tibi?"

Likud's statement insinuated that a government including Arab parties would oppose an operation in Gaza, though Abbas's Ra'am was a coalition partner during the 2022 Operation Breaking Dawn, during which the IDF struck 170 Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets.