We are determined to bring all hostages home, but are firm in eliminating Hamas's military capabilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while preparing to board Israel's state plane, Wing of Zion, to travel to Washington on Sunday.
"We are still focused on the Gaza arena. We have also achieved great successes there, but there are still tasks to complete. To date, we have freed 205 out of 255 hostages, including 148 alive. There are 20 hostages still alive and 30 deceased. I am determined, and we are determined, to bring them all back," Netanyahu stated.
"We are also determined to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel. This means we will not allow a situation where there are more kidnappings, more killings, more beheadings, or more invasions. This means one thing: the destruction of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities. Hamas will not be there," he continued.
"I am committed to these three tasks: freeing and bringing all our hostages, both the living and the fallen, eliminating Hamas's capabilities – removing them from Gaza, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," he added.
"We are working to secure the deal under the terms we agreed to. I sent a team for negotiations with clear instructions, and the conversation with US President Donald Trump can certainly advance the outcome we all hope for," Netanyahu said.
"In my conversation with President Trump, I will first thank him for his strong commitment to Israel. We have never had a friend like this in the White House. Our joint efforts led to a tremendous victory over our common enemy – Iran," Netanyahu added.
"Iran has made the destruction of Israel its goal. For years we were concerned – what will we do about Iran? Can we handle Iran? And now, our heroic pilots have flown over Iran’s skies, and the IDF excelled, as did the Mossad and all our security branches. Not only there, but also against Hezbollah in Lebanon. For years we were concerned – what will Hezbollah do and how can we stop them? We could stop them. And we also struck Hamas," he continued.
"This creates a great commitment and also great opportunities. The commitment is, first and foremost, to preserve the achievement, to remain vigilant against Iran’s efforts to renew its pursuit of nuclear weapons aimed at our destruction," he stated.
"This is one commitment, but there is also a great opportunity. The opportunity is to expand the circle of peace, far beyond what we could have imagined before. We have already dramatically changed the face of the Middle East, and we now have the opportunity and ability to change it even more and bring a great future for the State of Israel, the Jewish people, and the entire Middle East," he continued.
"This is my third visit with the president since he was elected a little over six months ago. I will also meet with senior administration officials, key members of Congress from both parties, and many other figures," Netanyahu noted.
Mike Huckabee joins the flight, tells the 'Post' he is looking forward to it
US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, also boarded Wing of Zion.
During the boarding process, The Jerusalem Post asked Huckabee his feelings towards the delegation's visit.
"Looking forward to it, it's going to be a great trip," Huckabee responded.
"Do you expect any announcements to be made?" the Post asked.
Huckabee smiled and stated, "I don't want to make any predictions."