Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that “there is no substitute for total victory” over Hamas at a memorial ceremony on Thursday, even as CIA Director Bill Burns attempts to broker a ceasefire.

“Hamas came to uproot us — we will uproot them,” Netanyahu told Israel Defense Forces soldiers at a base that Hamas overran on Oct. 7, 2023. “On Tu B’Shvat, here, next to the Gaza Strip, I say as clearly as possible: There is no alternative to deepening our roots, and there is no substitute for total victory over our enemies.”