Israeli military says looking for entry point for ceasefire, does not rule out continuing to deter Hamas

A Palestinian building in Gaza has been bombed by the Israeli military.

An Israeli military source said today that Israel is assessing when it is the right time to suspend airstrikes on Palestinian militants in the Gaza Corridor, but would be prepared to carry out “more days” of airstrikes if necessary. And according to Israeli Prime Minister Nitzanyahu today, the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip is aimed at deterring Hamas, but does not rule out “conquering” Hamas, which controls the corridor.

According to a Central News Agency report today, an Israeli military source said today on condition of anonymity, “We are watching to see when the time is right for a cease-fire.” The source added that Israel is assessing whether it has achieved its goal of weakening the Hamas group that rules Gaza. The question, according to the source, is whether Hamas understands that the rocket attacks launched against Israel cannot happen again.

Israel began launching a massive airstrike on Gaza on Oct. 10 after Hamas fired rockets into Jerusalem after fierce clashes erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s 3rd holiest site. According to an anonymous Israeli military official, Israel has decided to stop responding to Hamas rocket attacks only through retaliation in the form of an eye for an eye.

The military official said, “We see this as an opportunity to weaken Hamas’s fighting force.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that the Israeli bombing of the Gaza corridor was aimed at deterring Hamas groups, but did not rule out “conquering” Hamas, which controls the corridor.

According to Netanyahu, speaking of Hamas during a briefing for a group of foreign envoys in Tel Aviv, “There are only two ways to deal with them.” According to him, “You can conquer them, which is always possible, or you can deter them, and we are imposing a strong deterrent at this moment. But I must say that we do not exclude any option.”

According to Netanyahu, Israel “does not want” to escalate the situation.