TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Saturday of a long and difficult war ahead and said the conflict had entered its “second stage” after ground troops entered Gaza in a dramatic expansion of fighting.
His words echoed those of some troops on the ground who told NBC News that they are prepared for a fight that could last “months.”
In a televised address, Netanyahu told the nation that the war had entered a new phase, invoking Israel’s foundational conflict from the 1940s and saying it was the country’s “second independence war.”
Amid a febrile atmosphere in Israel, with families of the 229 hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack demanding their return, he said his goal remains to bring them home and defeat Hamas.
"This mission is not a simple or easy one," he said, hours after he met some of the families he has been criticized for not having given enough attention to. “It will be long and difficult. We are ready.”
The pressure to achieve both Hamas’ defeat and the hostages’ return, as well as scrutiny of the intelligence and security failures that led to the attack, have heaped pressure on Netanyahu. Many political analysts questioned whether it could mark the end of his career, and Saturday’s news conference was a rare occasion since the attack — and even before — when he took questions from the domestic Israeli media.
'Second stage of the war'
"This is the second stage of the war, whose objectives are clear: to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and bring the hostages home,” he said.
Israel on Friday struck Gaza with one of the most intense nighttime bombardments seen anywhere this century, military experts have said.
NBC News reporters near the border saw and heard airstrikes, rockets and artillery fire pounding the enclave in what the Israel Defense Forces said was a sustained bombing of 150 targets through the night. Though Israel says it is targeting only Hamas positions, its assault on the crowded, tiny piece of land has killed more than 7,700 people, including thousands of children.
Israel expanded its ground offensive, the IDF said, with tanks and other units crossing the border, some of them staying in the strip for the first time since the current conflict began.
‘It could very well be months’
Troops on the ground in southern Israel said they were prepared for the possibility of a monthslong fight, saying Friday’s incursion was just the beginning of expanded ground operations.
"What we did yesterday is only a very, very small step in what needs to be done,” said Lt. Col. (Res.) Mikey Hartman, who is based near the Gaza border.
Hartman, a former sniper for the IDF who returned to join the fight after he retired and moved to Florida, said he believed Hamas was caught “off guard” by Israeli forces’ incursion Friday night.
"We’re not trying to work from a playbook that they can read the same book,” he said. “I don’t think they were ready for us yesterday."
He said troops were prepared to be on the ground for as long as it takes. “I don’t know if it’s going to be months, but it could very well be months,” he said.
Staff Sgt. Ben Hardin, a reservist also stationed near the border, said the feeling among troops was that Israel’s operations in Gaza “won’t be over quickly” and that it “will take time.”
Netanyahu’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and Benny Gantz, who is a part of Israel’s emergency unity government, also warned Israelis at the news conference to brace for a lengthy and challenging war.
‘Bring them back’
As they were speaking, a square in central Tel Aviv was packed with demonstrators demanding the safe return of more than 220 hostages taken by Hamas. Many were demanding a cease-fire and criticized the government for pursuing the eradication of Hamas over the safe return of their loved ones.
The peaceful crowd chanted through a megaphone for at least 20 minutes nonstop, imploring Netanyahu to imagine that it was his children who had been taken. The very mention of his name elicited boos from the protesters before an argument broke out after a man said the rally was not the appropriate venue for political debate.
Ayelet Samerano, whose 21-year-old son, Jonathan Samerano, was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, was among the voices calling on Netanyahu to prioritize the return of those taken captive. She said the Israeli government’s “first mission” should be to “bring them back.”
Jonathan Samerano had escaped the musical festival where Hamas militants killed at least 260 people, only to encounter them once again as he and two friends tried to seek shelter in Be’eri. His friends were shot dead, and Ayelet Samerano said video had captured her son being shot and taken away. “They were trying to get to a shelter. … They didn’t know it was a terrorist they asked to open the gate,” she said.
Several of the families at the demonstration said they hoped the Israeli government would consider alternatives to escalating the conflict. Ayalet said she wished the government would “agree to release all the terrorists” held by Israel and let them “go back to Gaza” in exchange for those taken captive by Hamas.
Michael Levy, whose younger brother Or Levy was also feared taken hostage, said his concern for his brother grows every time Israel escalates its bombardment of Gaza. The news of Israel’s expanded campaign only makes him worry.
"How can you not?” he asked. "I know that my brother and the other hostages are inside."
