Jerusalem:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he would not stop the war in Gaza “now” as renewed efforts toward a ceasefire take place.
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, fourteen months after the start of the war against Palestinian Hamas operatives, he said: “If we end the war now, Hamas will return, recover, rebuild and attack us again – and that is what we will not want to do. back to”.
Netanyahu reiterated that he had set the goal of “the destruction of Hamas, the elimination of its military and administrative capabilities” to prevent future attacks, but said the goal had not yet been completed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on October 23 that Israel had “succeeded in dismantling Hamas' military capability” and eliminated its senior leaders. With these successes, he said, it was time to “bring the hostages home and end the war with an understanding of what will follow.”
In recent days there were signs that months of failed negotiations over a ceasefire and the release of hostages could be revived and a breakthrough achieved.
Qatar, one of the main mediators, said on Saturday that new “momentum” for the negotiations had been created by the election of Donald Trump in the United States.
A source close to the Hamas delegation said at the same time that Turkey as well as Egypt and Qatar had made “commendable efforts to stop the war” and that a new round of talks could begin soon.
On Sunday, the prime minister met with the families of hostages held in Gaza and said Israel's wars against Hezbollah and Hamas would facilitate negotiations for their release.
Protesters, including relatives of the hostages, have repeatedly called for a deal to free the prisoners and accused him of prolonging the war.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
During the attack, officers also kidnapped 251 hostages, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 44,758 people, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-led Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
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