Lerner from IDF Urges Newsmax to Consider Hostages in Calls for Cease-Fire

Calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas without mentioning the return of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 assaults “doesn’t do anything” about the reality of what’s going on, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. (Res.) Peter Lerner said on Newsmax Sunday.

“We are pushing forward,” Lerner told Newsmax’s “Sunday Report.” “We are determined to destroy Hamas. We’re determined to hunt down their leadership. We’re this determined to make sure that the seventh of October never, ever happens again.”

Lerner said Israel has broadened the scope of its operations on the ground, air, and sea, and “we are pursuing and achieving our goals every hour…we are moving forward toward achieving our goal.”

The encirclement of Gaza City “is just another stage in that effort to defeat Hamas,” he added.

The urban warfare is a particular challenge, but the Israeli military’s efforts are “very effective,” said Lerner.

“I can say that almost every time a Hamas terrorist comes up against our guys, they end up dead as they should be,” Lerner said. “We are very, very effective, utilizing a lot of force and destroying the infrastructure as we meet it as we engage it.”

Hamas, he added is “definitely bearing the brunt of this battle.”

“They cannot be allowed to use the Gaza Strip as a staging ground for attacks, massacres, and rape and the most inhumane acts that we’ve ever experienced in this country, ever again,” said Lerner. “There’s a very high level of motivation of our forces to achieve that goal and restore safety and security for the people of Israel and also for the people of Gaza.”

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protesters this weekend at the White House are accusing Biden of signing off on genocide, but Lerner said that Israel is “very grateful for the support that America is extending to Israel.”

“Decent people are standing with Israel today,” he added. “Nobody can accept the fact that 241 people, Israelis and foreign nationals, are being held hostage by a terrorist organization.”

It’s also important to remember who started the fight and who will lose it, said Lerner.

“The baby who was abducted was nine months old when he was abducted,” he said. “He’s now 10 months old. How long does this have to go on for?”

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