Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today (Tuesday) with new IDF recruits at the Tel Hashomer base. During his visit to the base, the Prime Minister addressed the progress in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

At the beginning of the visit, Netanyahu received an overview of the recruitment data in the shadow of the war, and was impressed by the great motivation of the recruits to serve in the IDF and to serve combat roles in particular. Afterward, he had a conversation with the new recruits and answered their questions.

Later, Netanyahu joined the new recruits for lunch and heard from them about their recruitment process.

Netanyahu told the recruits: “This is a very fateful day in your life and in the life of the state. The state exists because of our ability to defend ourselves. These attacks have not stopped since we established the state, this was the fate of the Jewish people for hundreds and even thousands of years. What changed with the establishment of the state is our ability to repel these attacks. Sometimes at a very heavy price, but with a strength that the whole world understands, if it does not always like, but we know that without it we cannot exist.”

He continued: “This is what you are doing here today; in the different units, in the different brigades, in the different military forces. We are actually protecting the existence of our country, which is also the personal existence of each and every one of you, of your families, of your friends, and also of future generations. This is not an exaggeration, these are not lofty words, these are very accurate words, this is what determines if our country will exist.”

He added that “the most striking thing we have seen in the last six months since the war broke out, is a huge increase in the motivation of the youth, it’s huge. The desire to mobilize, defend, and fight, of both boys and girls. It’s skyrocketing, and we have not seen anything like this before. This is evidence of the strength of life that exists within our people. I think you deserve every praise and also the understanding that you are truly doing something that has historical significance.”

Netanyahu said about the combat in the Gaza Strip: “We will complete the elimination of the Hamas brigades, including in Rafah. There is no force in the world that will stop us. There are many forces that are trying to do this, but it will not work, because [we will see to it that] this enemy, after what it has done, will not be able do it any more. It won’t continue to exist either. We are committed to accomplishing that, and each and every one of you now, in your recruitment, will contribute in one way or another to the realization of that goal. It has to happen. After they did something like this to our country – they can’t [be allowed to live to try to] do it again.”

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