Gadi Eisenkot, former Israeli army chief of staff and head of the Yashar party, delivers a statement during a press conference at the Black Arrow memorial site near Kibbutz Mefalsim, adjacent to the border with Gaza Strip on Oct. 15, 2026, ahead of the Israel's legislative election. (Credit: Ilia Yefimovich / AFP)
Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in upcoming elections, vowed Thursday to defeat Hamas in Gaza if he becomes prime minister following the Oct. 27 vote.
"Today I give a public commitment: from the moment I enter the Prime Minister's Office, within 18 months Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip," the leader of the center-right Yashar party said at a press conference near the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
He said he would achieve this either by implementing U.S. President Donald Trump's cease-fire plan for Gaza, which provides for the gradual disarmament of Hamas and a transfer of power, or through "creative operations" by Israel's military aimed at destroying the Palestinian movement's military wing.
Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in upcoming elections, vowed Thursday to defeat Hamas in Gaza if he becomes prime minister following the Oct. 27 vote.
"Today I give a public commitment: from the moment I enter the Prime Minister's Office, within 18 months Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip," the leader of the center-right Yashar party said at a press conference near the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
He said he would achieve this either by implementing U.S. President Donald Trump's cease-fire plan for Gaza, which provides for the gradual disarmament of Hamas and a transfer of power, or through "creative operations" by Israel's military aimed at destroying the Palestinian movement's military wing.
