Gaza News | At least 13,000 Palestinian 'Terrorists' Killed In Israel-Hamas War: Netanyahu

At least 13,000 Palestinian 'Terrorists' Killed In Israel-Hamas War: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The Gaza Health Ministry did not provide details of the death toll among civilians and Hamas militants, but said 72% of those killed were women and children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a German newspaper that at least 13,000 Palestinians killed during Israel's air and ground offensive on Gaza were "terrorists".

Five months into Israel's campaign, following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, Palestinian health officials say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The Gaza Health Ministry did not provide details of the death toll among civilians and Hamas militants, but said 72% of those killed were women and children. Hamas dismissed the Israeli figures of militants killed as an attempt to show a "fake victory".

In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, Netanyahu was quoted as saying that expanding the Israeli offensive into Rafah in southern Gaza was crucial to defeating Hamas.

“We stand on the cusp of victory… As we prepare for military action against the last pockets of terrorist resistance in Rafah, we hope that the intensive phase of the conflict will end within a few weeks.”

Also Read: Petition filed in Supreme Court to stop the appointment of new Election Commissioner of the Center

Bild quoted Netanyahu as saying that three quarters of Hamas' battalions had been destroyed and that only stopping the offensive would now allow them to regroup.

Excerpts from the interview, conducted jointly with Politico and German broadcaster Welt TV, were made available to Reuters on Sunday by Bild.