TEL AVIV: The West Asian conflict entered a decisive stage on Tuesday after Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he would eliminate Hamas and put Gaza's security under strict Israeli control. Arab countries came in unison to condemn Netanyahu's announcement, while Iran said Israel was aiming to capture Gaza and said it would only remain as a pipedream.

In an interview with ABC News, Netanyahu said Israel's mission was not just to destroy Hamas.

“ If they retreat, they can be a threat again. We don’t want a repeat of October 7. We will control Gaza.” Netanyahu told ABC news.

Netanyahu was uncertain about the time it would take to complete the takeover, but said Israel is steadfast in the notion to control Gaza, and will not back an inch from the mission. Israel wants to control northern Gaza, which is a stronghold of Hamas. The Israeli army has surrounded Gaza City and has divided the peninsula into north and south.

A full-scale ground war could break out in northern Gaza at any moment. The Salah al-Din highway was opened for two hours yesterday as a last chance for the remaining people to cross into southern Gaza. In these two hours allowed, many people were seen running along with injured children in a last bit effort to leave the war-torn northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, northern Gaza is starving and is running out of fuel and other domestic needs. The death toll has reached 11,328. Israel carried out heavy airstrikes on Hamas centres on Tuesday. 42 people, including a journalist, were killed in Gaza City. Meanwhile, US deployed nuclear submarines in the Gulf Ocean as a warning sign to any Iran offensives.