STORY: Netanyahu says Israel in "final stage" of eliminating Hamas in Gaza
SHOOTING TIME: July 1, 2024
DATELINE: July 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:15
LOCATION: Jerusalem
CATEGORY: POLITICS/MILITARY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with cadets from Israel's National Security College (pictures provided by Government Press Office)
2. various of the Israeli army's operations in the Gaza Strip (footage provided by the Israel Defense Forces)

STORYLINE:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country is in "the final stage" of eliminating Hamas' armed force in the Gaza Strip.
   
"We are advancing towards the completion of the elimination" of Hamas, Netanyahu said during a meeting with cadets from Israel's National Security College, according to a statement released by his office.
   
Netanyahu's estimate came a day after he toured the Gaza Division and held a security assessment meeting, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the army's senior command, on Israel's nine-month-long offensive in Gaza, "with emphasis on the fighting in Rafah, as well as the continuation of military pressure on Hamas," according to Netanyahu's office.
   
Also on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered a mass evacuation of civilians from the eastern Khan Younis, signaling that ground forces might soon resume their offensives in the southern Gazan city, presumably to fight Hamas forces that have regrouped in the area.
   
Israel completed a large-scale attack in Khan Younis in early April and subsequently withdrew most of its forces.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Jerusalem.
(XHTV)