“Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarised, and Palestinian society must be deradicalised. These are the three prerequisites for peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal Monday night, AFP reports.

He labelled Hamas a “key Iranian proxy” that must be destroyed, adding that the US, UK, France, Germany and other countries support Israel’s decision to demolish the group.

“To achieve that goal, its military capabilities must be dismantled and its political rule over Gaza must end. Hamas’s leaders have vowed to repeat the Oct. 7 massacre ‘again and again.’

“That is why their destruction is the only proportional response to prevent the repeat of such horrific atrocities. Anything less guarantees more war and more bloodshed,” he wrote.

Read the full op-ed here.