"Hamas should be crushed, treated exactly the way as ISIS...": Israeli PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Hamas should be crushed and that the group that should be treated the same way as the Islamic State, or ISIS.

He said Hamas should be "spit out from the community of nations," with countries facing sanctions if they harbour Hamas.

"Hamas is ISIS and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated. They should be spit out from the community of nations. No leader should meet them, no country should harbour them and those that do should be sanctioned" he said.

PM Netanyahu in a joint presser with US State Secretary Antony Blinken, went on to emphasise that Hamas deliberately targets civilians and reaffirmed US President Joe Biden's characterization of Hamas as "sheer evil".

Highlighting the brutal acts committed by Hamas, PM Netanyahu said, "Hamas has shown itself to be an enemy of civilisation. The massacring of young people at an outdoor music festival, the butchering of entire families, the murder of parents in front of their children and the murder of children in front of their parents, the burning of people alive, the beheadings, the kidnappings of a young boy."

He said further, "Not only kidnap, molest the kidnapped and the sickening display of celebrating these horrors, the celebration and glorification of evil - President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this sheer evil."

Furthermore, Netanyahu boldly affirmed that Israel would triumph in its war against Hamas and expressed gratitude to the United States for its unwavering support during these challenging times.

He added, "Antony, my friend. I say to you, I say to all of us. There will be many difficult days ahead. But I have no doubt that the forces of civilisation will win. The reason that is true is because we understand what is the first prerequisite of victory - moral clarity. This is a time that we must stand tall, proud and united against evil. America is taking that stand, thank you America for standing with Israel, today, tomorrow and always".

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Forces said that Hamas brought ISIS flags to Israel when they had infiltrated various parts of South Israel last weekend.

In a post shared on X, Israeli Defence Forces stated, "Hamas brought ISIS flags to massacre Israeli children, women and men. Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization. Hamas is worse than ISIS."

The death toll in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7 has jumped to 1,300 and some 3300 have been injured, including 28 in critical condition and 350 in serious condition, The Times of Israel reported citing Hebrew media reports. The fate of an estimated 150 people abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip during the attack by Hamas is still unclear, the report said.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military has so far notified families of 97 hostages who were being held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported. (ANI)