In a video address broadcast on Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister categorically rejected the conditions set by Hamas to free its hostages, including a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. A new attack by the Palestinian armed group would then only be a “matter of time”.
In a defiant new statement, Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address on Sunday that he emphasized during his conversation with US President Joe Biden on Friday that he rejects Hamas’ demands for a ceasefire. , the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of Palestinians held by Israel in exchange for the remaining hostages. According to the Israeli Prime Minister, if these conditions were accepted a new devastating attack by Hamas “would only be a matter of time“.
Benjamin Netanyahu is once again rejecting calls from the United States, Israel’s closest ally, for post-war plans that would include a path to the creation of a Palestinian state. A refusal of the two-state solution described as unacceptable by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“The Middle East is a powder keg. We must do everything in our power to prevent conflict from breaking out in the region“, says Antonio Guterres.”It starts with an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to alleviate the suffering in Gaza“.
Anger of the families and loved ones of the hostages
Furious at the Israeli government and demanding the release of the remaining hostages, relatives and others demonstrated Sunday evening outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, vowing to stay until a deal is reached.
The families of the hostages want an exchange similar to that which allowed a week-long ceasefire in November and the release of numerous hostages.
The war began with Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7. Palestinian militants have killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taken around 250 hostages to Gaza.
Some senior Israeli officials have begun to recognize that the government’s goals of “complete victory” on Hamas and the return of the remaining hostages, are incompatible.
A member of Israel’s war cabinet, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, said last week that the only way to free the hostages was a ceasefire.
But Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners are pushing him to step up the offensive, with some calling for emigration.voluntary” of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in the region.