Netanyahu insists Israel not controlled by US, vows to continue to strike Hamas, Hezbollah

Hamas never stopped violating Gaza deal, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vowing to continue strikes in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue military operations against terrorist forces in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, accusing both Hamas and Hezbollah of continuously violating ceasefires with Israel.

Addressing the weekly government meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu doubled down on his rejection of claims that the Trump administration has heavily restricted Israel’s freedom of action and is directing its security policies.

“All the talk that ‘We must receive approvals for this’ from one source or another is simply an absolute lie,” Netanyahu said, pushing back on numerous reports suggesting Israel is increasingly adhering to dictates from the US.

“We operate independently of anyone. Immediate actions to thwart attacks are taken by the IDF automatically.”

“As for the responses, that goes through the minister of defense and eventually reaches me, and we decide independently of any factor, and that is how it should be. Israel is responsible for its own security.”

Netanyahu cited recent Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, targeting senior Hamas officials and Hamas terrorists who attempted to flee a tunnel in Rafah, as well as strikes on Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon.

Despite ceasefires on both fronts, Netanyahu noted that Israel has carried out numerous reprisal strikes in Gaza following Hamas violations of the truce, while also eliminating threats to IDF forces on the east side of the Yellow Line.

“We are continuing to strike terrorism on several fronts. This weekend, the IDF struck in Lebanon, and we will continue to do everything necessary to prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing its threat capability against us. This is also what we are doing in the Gaza Strip.”

“Since the ceasefire, Hamas has not stopped violating it, and we are acting accordingly. There have been several attempts by them to infiltrate our territory beyond the yellow line and try to harm our soldiers.”

“We have thwarted this with great force and also retaliated and exacted a very heavy price. That includes many terrorists we eliminated, and also terrorists we captured from the tunnels in Rafah.”

On Saturday, Israel announced that 17 Hamas terrorists were observed exiting a tunnel network under the city of Rafah, deep in Israeli-held territory.

All 17 were ultimately either killed or captured.