Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (not pictured) in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. Photo: ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a stern warning to the US and Europe about the intentions of Hamas if Israel does not defeat the Palestinian terrorist group in their current conflict.

“If we don’t win now, then Europe is next and you’re next. And we have to win,” Netanyahu told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview on Monday.

“We have to win not only for our sake, but for the sake of the Middle East, for the sake of our Arab neighbors. You know what, for the sake of Gazans who’ve been held by this dark tyranny that has brutalized and brought them nothing but bloodshed and poverty and misery,” Netanyahu said, referring to Hamas’ years-long rule over the Gaza Strip. “We have to win to protect Israel. We have to win to safeguard the Middle East. We have to win for the sake of the civilized world. That’s the battle we’re fighting, and it’s being waged right now. There is no substitute for that victory.”

Netanyahu emphasized that “our fight is your fight.”

Hamas, an Islamist organization and an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been vocal about its intention of destroying Israel and killing Jews.

“We have to have the forces of civilization beat these barbarians because otherwise this barbarism will spread and will endanger the entire world,” Netanyahu said. “Every American, every civilized country will be under peril. We have to win. There is no substitute for victory. Total victory.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the US Congress two weeks ago that Hamas and its allies “will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen” since the Islamic State (ISIS) launched its so-called caliphate in 2014 by taking large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.

Hamas is backed by Iran, which oversees what Netanyahu described as an “axis of terror” that stretches across the Middle East and includes several proxy forces — most notably Hezbollah, the terror group based in Lebanon.

“They want to bring the Middle East, the world, back to the Dark Ages,” the prime minister said. “And on the other side stands Israel, the modern Arab states, of course the United States, all the forces that want to see peace, prosperity for the Middle East and for the world. And that’s the battle that is being waged right now.”

Netanyahu said during the interview that the Biden administration has been “very supportive” of Israel during its war against Hamas following the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israeli communities. He noted that Israel is providing a corridor for Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be sent in, but stressed that, despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire, such an arrangement will only be made when all the roughly 240 hostages kidnapped from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 are released.

Agreeing to a ceasefire before the captives are released, Netanyahu said, would be a “surrender to Hamas.”

The Israeli prime minister also referenced the numerous anti-Israel demonstrations that have erupted on college campuses and the streets of cities across the West, calling the protesters “misguided.”

“We’re not going to be pressed by these demonstrations,” he said. “We’re going to do what’s right and win this war for our sake, for the sake of humanity and civilization.”