Tel Aviv: Questions are being raised about the viability of a US-backed proposal to end eight months of US military exercises. war In Gaza This came into doubt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Netanyahu He said he would only agree to a “partial” ceasefire deal The comment that this would not end the war sparked outrage among families of those held hostage by Hamas.
In an interview broadcast late Sunday on Israel’s Channel 14, a conservative, pro-Netanyahu station, the Israeli leader said he was “ready to make a partial settlement — this is no secret — that would allow some people to return,” referring to about 120 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.“But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause to accomplish the goal of eliminating Hamas. I’m not willing to give up on this.”
Netanyahu’s remarks are not dramatically different from what he has previously said about his terms for a deal. But they come at a sensitive time, when recent developments have widened the rift between Israel and Hamas. stop fire The proposal could be another setback for mediators trying to end the war.
Netanyahu’s remarks stood in stark contrast to the outline of the agreement detailed late last month by US President Joe Biden, who framed the plan as an Israeli one and which some in Israel call “Netanyahu’s deal.” His remarks could further strain Israel’s relations with the US, its top ally, which launched a major diplomatic effort to broker the latest cease-fire proposal.
Under this three-phase plan, the remaining hostages will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But there remains controversy and mistrust between Israel and Hamas over the implementation of this agreement.
Hamas has insisted it will not release the remaining hostages until there is a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. When Biden announced the latest proposal last month, he said it included both.
But Netanyahu says Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governance capabilities, and ensuring it can never again launch an attack like the one on October 7. A full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, where Hamas’s top leadership and most of its forces still remain, would almost certainly enable the group to regain control of the territory and rearm it.
In the interview, Netanyahu said the current round of fighting was coming to an end, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which could open a new battle front. But he said that does not mean the war in Gaza is over.
On Monday, Defense Secretary Yoav Galant discussed tensions along the border with Lebanon with Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, during his visit to Washington. He reiterated Netanyahu’s comments that the war in Gaza was entering a new phase that could have ramifications for other conflicts, including with Hezbollah.
During the initial six-week phase, the two sides are to negotiate an agreement on the second phase, which Biden said would include the release of all remaining surviving hostages, including male soldiers, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The temporary ceasefire would then become permanent.
Hamas worries that Israel will resume the war once its most vulnerable hostages are returned. And even if it doesn’t, Israel could make demands at that stage of the negotiations that were not part of the initial agreement and that are unacceptable to Hamas – and then resume the war when Hamas refuses them.
Netanyahu’s comments reinforced that concern. After his broadcast, Hamas said they represented “his clear confirmation of his rejection” of the US-backed deal, which also has the backing of the United Nations Security Council.
In a statement late Sunday after Netanyahu’s lengthy TV interview, the Palestinian militant group said its stance was “in contrast” to the US administration’s statement that Israel had approved. The group said its insistence that any deal must include a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip was “an indispensable necessity to stop Netanyahu’s continued procrastination, deception and aggression and to stop his war of annihilation against our people.”
Netanyahu hit back, issuing a statement from his office saying that Hamas opposes the deal. He said that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza until all 120 hostages are returned.
Hamas welcomed the broad outlines of the US plan but called what it proposed “amendments.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to the region earlier this month that some of Hamas’ demands were “workable” and some were not, but he did not elaborate.
Both Netanyahu and Hamas have incentives to continue this destructive war, despite the devastating impact it has had on civilians in Gaza and growing anger in Israel that after so many months Israel has not reached its goals of returning the hostages and defeating Hamas.
The hostages’ families have grown increasingly impatient with Netanyahu, as they see his apparent reluctance to move forward on the deal as tainted by political reasons. A group representing the families condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, which they saw as Israel’s rejection of the latest cease-fire proposal.
“This is a reckless abandonment of 120 hostages and a violation of the state’s moral duty to its citizens,” it said, adding that Netanyahu is responsible for returning all the hostages.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly, in a cross-border offensive on October 7. Dozens were released under a temporary cease-fire deal in late November and of the remaining 120 hostages, Israeli officials say about a third have died.
More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory war, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry. It has triggered a humanitarian crisis and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.
In an interview broadcast late Sunday on Israel’s Channel 14, a conservative, pro-Netanyahu station, the Israeli leader said he was “ready to make a partial settlement — this is no secret — that would allow some people to return,” referring to about 120 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.“But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause to accomplish the goal of eliminating Hamas. I’m not willing to give up on this.”
Netanyahu’s remarks are not dramatically different from what he has previously said about his terms for a deal. But they come at a sensitive time, when recent developments have widened the rift between Israel and Hamas. stop fire The proposal could be another setback for mediators trying to end the war.
Netanyahu’s remarks stood in stark contrast to the outline of the agreement detailed late last month by US President Joe Biden, who framed the plan as an Israeli one and which some in Israel call “Netanyahu’s deal.” His remarks could further strain Israel’s relations with the US, its top ally, which launched a major diplomatic effort to broker the latest cease-fire proposal.
Under this three-phase plan, the remaining hostages will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But there remains controversy and mistrust between Israel and Hamas over the implementation of this agreement.
Hamas has insisted it will not release the remaining hostages until there is a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. When Biden announced the latest proposal last month, he said it included both.
But Netanyahu says Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governance capabilities, and ensuring it can never again launch an attack like the one on October 7. A full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, where Hamas’s top leadership and most of its forces still remain, would almost certainly enable the group to regain control of the territory and rearm it.
In the interview, Netanyahu said the current round of fighting was coming to an end, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which could open a new battle front. But he said that does not mean the war in Gaza is over.
On Monday, Defense Secretary Yoav Galant discussed tensions along the border with Lebanon with Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, during his visit to Washington. He reiterated Netanyahu’s comments that the war in Gaza was entering a new phase that could have ramifications for other conflicts, including with Hezbollah.
During the initial six-week phase, the two sides are to negotiate an agreement on the second phase, which Biden said would include the release of all remaining surviving hostages, including male soldiers, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The temporary ceasefire would then become permanent.
Hamas worries that Israel will resume the war once its most vulnerable hostages are returned. And even if it doesn’t, Israel could make demands at that stage of the negotiations that were not part of the initial agreement and that are unacceptable to Hamas – and then resume the war when Hamas refuses them.
Netanyahu’s comments reinforced that concern. After his broadcast, Hamas said they represented “his clear confirmation of his rejection” of the US-backed deal, which also has the backing of the United Nations Security Council.
In a statement late Sunday after Netanyahu’s lengthy TV interview, the Palestinian militant group said its stance was “in contrast” to the US administration’s statement that Israel had approved. The group said its insistence that any deal must include a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip was “an indispensable necessity to stop Netanyahu’s continued procrastination, deception and aggression and to stop his war of annihilation against our people.”
Netanyahu hit back, issuing a statement from his office saying that Hamas opposes the deal. He said that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza until all 120 hostages are returned.
Hamas welcomed the broad outlines of the US plan but called what it proposed “amendments.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to the region earlier this month that some of Hamas’ demands were “workable” and some were not, but he did not elaborate.
Both Netanyahu and Hamas have incentives to continue this destructive war, despite the devastating impact it has had on civilians in Gaza and growing anger in Israel that after so many months Israel has not reached its goals of returning the hostages and defeating Hamas.
The hostages’ families have grown increasingly impatient with Netanyahu, as they see his apparent reluctance to move forward on the deal as tainted by political reasons. A group representing the families condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, which they saw as Israel’s rejection of the latest cease-fire proposal.
“This is a reckless abandonment of 120 hostages and a violation of the state’s moral duty to its citizens,” it said, adding that Netanyahu is responsible for returning all the hostages.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly, in a cross-border offensive on October 7. Dozens were released under a temporary cease-fire deal in late November and of the remaining 120 hostages, Israeli officials say about a third have died.
More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory war, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry. It has triggered a humanitarian crisis and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.
