Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a German newspaper that at least 13,000 "terrorists" were among Palestinians killed during Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza.
Five months into Israel's campaign following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, Palestinian health authorities say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed.
The Gaza health ministry does not break down the death count between civilians and Hamas operatives but has said that 72% of those killed were women and children. Hamas dismisses Israeli figures for militants killed as attempts to portray "fake victories".
In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, Netanyahu was quoted as saying that an extension of Israel's offensive into Rafah in southern Gaza was key to defeating Hamas.
"We are very close to victory ... Once we begin military action against the remaining terror battalions in Rafah, it is only a question of weeks" until the intensive phase of fighting is concluded, he said.
Three quarters of Hamas battalions had been destroyed and halting the offensive now would only allow them to regroup, Bild quoted Netanyahu as saying.
Bild made excerpts of the interview, which was jointly held with Politico and German broadcaster Welt TV, available to Reuters on Sunday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
"Aerial Explosion" Near US Embassy In Tel Aviv Kills 1, Injures 2 Netanyahu Vows To Keep Control Of Rafah Crossing Even After Ceasefire Deal Biden, Netanyahu Expected To Meet Next Week: White House Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor: The Culprit Behind World's Biggest IT Outage UPSC Cracks Down, Says Puja Khedkar Faked Identity, Parents' Name, Address Microsoft Outage "Affecting IT Operations" Paris Olympics Organisers Biden Or Trump, It's Still A Long Wait For Indian 'Dreamers' In US ISRO Chief Gets His PhD From IIT-Madras: "A Village Boy's Dream Fulfilled" Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.