TEL AVIV, September 16. /TASS/. Israel is pursuing two main objectives with the radicals from the Palestinian Hamas movement, which are to release the hostages held in the Gaza Strip and to lay down weapons, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
Katz visited earlier today the 162nd Division that began maneuvering in Gaza City. According to him, a new offensive operation by the Israeli ground forces, the purpose of which this time is to establish full control over the city of Gaza, should bring the release of Israeli hostages closer, the Ynet portal reports.
"Right now we are at the most significant testing point to complete and decide this campaign," the Ynet quoted him as saying. "From Hamas we need only two things and they won't give them voluntarily: to release all hostages and to disarm."
The Israeli defense minister noted that "the greater the force of the attack here, the more it directly contributes to defeating Hamas and also creates greater leverage for the release of hostages."
"Only when we decided we are taking control of Gaza did they return to discuss what they weren't willing to before," Katz added.
As reported earlier, Israel launched its planned "ground offensive" on Gaza City in order to establish total control over it. As the Axios portal noted, US President Donald Trump’s administration is not going to hinder Israel, letting it make decisions with regard to the conflict on its own.
The portal’s sources noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "that the Trump administration supports the ground operation but wants to see it implemented quickly, ending as soon as possible."
On September 8, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army would soon launch a major offensive on the Palestinian city of Gaza, due to which local residents should leave it immediately.
Earlier, Israel announced a large-scale offensive operation in the Palestinian enclave with the aim of establishing complete control over Gaza City and fully defeating the Hamas radicals there. The army’s offensive plans were approved by Netanyahu in late August.