Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with IDF commanders, including members of the elite Shayetet 13 marine commando unit, in Atlit, Israel, Jan. 17, 2023. Photo: Ariel Hermoni (Israel’s Ministry of Defense)

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday that the only way to bring the hostages held in Gaza back home is to continue Israel’s war effort against the Hamas terror group, rejecting calls for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

“Regarding the hostages, we have no right to stop fighting as long as there are hostages in Gaza,” Gallant told Israeli soldiers. “The only way to bring them back is via military pressure, because Hamas only responds to the use of force.”

Gallant was speaking to Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 marine commando unit in the town of Atlit, where he was hosted by David Saar Salama, commander in chief of the Israeli Navy, as well as commanders in Shayetet 13.

“We will continue fighting until we achieve victory — until we defeat the Hamas terrorist organization — removing all of its significant military and governing capabilities in Gaza,” Gallant told the gathering.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, launched the current war with its surprise cross-border invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, when the Palestinian terror group murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others as hostages. Mounting evidence has revealed the terrorists perpetrated mass atrocities against the Israeli people during their onslaught, including torture and systematic sexual violence.

Israel responded with a military campaign of air strikes and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza, with the goal of freeing all the hostages and incapacitating the terror group to the point that it can no longer pose a major threat to the Jewish state.

“In northern Gaza we are dismantling their [Hamas] capabilities, dismantling their battalion frameworks,” Gallant said. “This enables an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] brigade to maneuver from place to place — Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia. The same goes for areas in the center of the Gaza strip, and we will achieve this in Khan Younis as well.”

In Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Gallant explained, “we operate in a different way. It’s a cross-stage effort [operations that take place in multiple phases of the war]. There, we focus on reaching Hamas’ leadership and on the hostage issue.”

Some 130 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza after about 100 were freed as part of a temporary Israel-Hamas truce in late November.

Israel has come under international pressure to stop its military campaign and accept a ceasefire, which critics argue would allow for a negotiated settlement to the hostage issue. Israeli leaders counter that a ceasefire would allow Hamas — whose leaders have promised to repeat its Oct. 7 massacre “again and again” — to regroup, arguing the Iran-backed Islamist terror group will only respond to strength.

“The end of this war — whenever it may be — will be based on our achievements,” Gallant said. “This will include destroying Hamas’ ability to operate with military and governing capabilities. We will maintain freedom of operation.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed similar sentiments on Wednesday.

“The war continues, and it will continue until the end, until we complete all our goals: the return of the abductees, the elimination of Hamas, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said during a visit to the Nabatim air force base in southern Israel. “Let there be no mistake: We will persist in the fight on land, at sea, and in the air until complete victory.”