Former IDF chief and Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot pledged Thursday that Hamas would no longer rule Gaza within 18 months of his taking office as prime minister. He made the pledge in a security statement near the Gaza border, 12 days before the election.

“I commit: Within 18 months of entering the Prime Minister’s Office, Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip. We will destroy Hamas’s military wing,” Eisenkot said. He said the goal could be achieved either through the framework proposed by President Donald Trump and accepted by the Netanyahu government, or through military and operational action.

Eisenkot sharply criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, saying, “As long as Binyamin Netanyahu is in power, Hamas will remain in power. The man who hangs signs saying ‘We will not surrender’ is the first to surrender: to draft evaders, to his coalition partners and to Hamas.”

He said that three years after the October 7 massacre, Hamas remains in control of Gaza, armed and rebuilding its military capabilities. Eisenkot also said there is a gap between the achievements of Israeli troops in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza and the government’s failure to meet its own objectives.

Eisenkot called for a national strategy, a state commission of inquiry into October 7 and implementation of its findings. He said he has the knowledge and experience to lead the IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet.

The Likud responded by asking, “How will you topple Hamas without getting permission from your partners Mansour and Tibi?”

Eisenkot’s party replied: “For 17 years, Netanyahu and the Likud have been misleading Israel’s citizens and strengthening Hamas. If you had focused a little more on your job and less on drafting talking points, perhaps October 7 would have been prevented. In 12 days, you’re going home.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)