Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is waging a psychological war on the citizens of Israel and his government and is pressuring them by publishing pictures of prisoners, stressing his commitment to returning the remaining prisoners but without leaving the Philadelphi Corridor. He also said that after October 7, Israel has local and international legitimacy to reoccupy the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu stressed more than once in his speech during a press conference today that the Israeli army will not leave the Philadelphi corridor, and said that if we leave it, we will not be able to return to it.

He claimed that when the Israeli army withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Philadelphia became an area for smuggling weapons provided by Iran, considering that Egypt did not succeed in preventing the smuggling of weapons to the Gaza Strip via the axis, according to his expression.

He added that the central location of the Philadelphi Corridor must be understood in relation to Hamas's armament, which led to the "October 7 massacre," according to him, stressing that Israel's control of the corridor is essential to achieving the war's goals.

Netanyahu stressed that his goal in this war is to free the prisoners and destroy Hamas' capabilities so that it no longer poses a threat, and he said again that "this is done by controlling the Philadelphi corridor."

He added that militants are infiltrating from Gaza to Sinai and then moving to Yemen, Iran and other areas, and that without controlling the Philadelphi Corridor, he will not be able to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons or militants, he claimed.

He reiterated that he would not leave the Philadelphi corridor even within the 42-day period included in the proposed exchange deal, stressing that he was "committed to returning the hostages, but leaving the Philadelphi corridor will not achieve that."

He said that the Israeli army will not leave Gaza and then return later, but will remain in the Strip, adding that he does not want to rule the Gaza Strip, but seeks to deprive Hamas of its ability to return to rule the Strip, according to him.

He added, "Before October 7, we did not have the local or international legitimacy to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, and the situation is different now," stressing that he will not end the war before ensuring that Hamas does not repeat what it did on October 7.

"We are one step away from paving the way for victory, and this would not have been possible without entering Rafah," he said, adding, "We are close to destroying Hamas's ability to return to power, and we are destroying their tunnels and we found millions of shekels in their tunnels," he claimed.

He stressed that Israel will not end the war "before ensuring that Hamas does not repeat what it did on October 7."

In the context of targeting the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu said that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority share the same goals regarding the destruction of Israel. He added that the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank places in the educational curricula the same goal that Hamas places in Gaza, which is the destruction of Israel.

Netanyahu considered that he "was flexible 5 times during the negotiations with Hamas, but the movement was always the obstacle to completing the negotiations," and he said, "I will order the continuation of military pressure and flexibility in the negotiations wherever this is necessary," he said.

Hamas accuses Israel and Netanyahu personally of obstructing the achievement of an agreement that would end the war and guarantee a prisoner exchange between the two parties. This accusation is supported by parties within Israel, and even the United States, which supported Tel Aviv financially and militarily during the war, has hinted at this matter several times.