MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/. Israel will continue to press for the elimination of Hamas terrorist groups even after the hostages are released, the ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi, has told TASS.

"There is no point in negotiating with Hamas. Yesterday our prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] said very clearly that as long as Hamas terrorist structures are not wiped out, we will be unable to achieve one of the main goals of our operation. If these structures remain, who will give us guarantees that this will not happen again in a year or two?" he said.

Asked whether Israel would continue to seek the complete elimination of Hamas terrorist structures after the release of the hostages, he said, "Yes, absolutely."

"They say every day that they want to destroy Israel, that October 7 should be repeated," Ben Zvi continued. "What is to be negotiated then? It doesn't make sense. If they give up all this and stop being a terrorist organization, then we will give thought to it. As long as this has not happened, there will be nothing to talk about. They are a terrorist organization."

Israel for its part, as Ben Zvi noted, must do everything to ensure the security of its population.