Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip area this Monday and took the opportunity to emphasize that the war against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) “It’s far from over.”
The Israeli prime minister noted that “we will not stop, we will continue to fight and intensify the fighting in the coming days, and this will be a long fight and it is far from over,” according to The Times of Israel .”
Netanyahu also emphasized that this was necessary “Patience” and “Unity”, and consensus on the “mission” that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is carrying out in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 Hamas offensive.
The Palestinian militia carried out a series of unprecedented attacks on Israeli territory in early October, leaving nearly 1,200 people dead and another 240 hostages, some of whom were released during a week-long ceasefire in late November.
The IDF, for its part, responded with a bloody counteroffensive against Hamas structures in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military operation has already killed more than 20,000 Palestinians and injured more than 50,000.
Relatives of hostages interrupt his speech in parliament
After this visit, the Israeli Prime Minister gave a speech in the Israeli Parliament, which was interrupted by a group of relatives of the hostages held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.
The demonstrators, the They carried banners and photos of the abductees and chanted “Now” as Netanyahu defended that the government had managed to free more than 100 hostages so far. thanks to military pressure.
“Without military pressure, operational pressure and diplomatic pressure, we will not be able to free all the hostages. And that is why we will not do one thing: we will not stop fighting,” he stressed in his speech, as reported by the Prime Minister’s Office. .
Agree to continue the conflict
On the one hand, Netanyahu insists on continuing the war to the end, on the other hand, the Islamist militia refuses to reject Egypt’s proposal for a new ceasefire in Gaza with prisoner exchanges and a new technocrat government focused on reconstruction.
Palestinian Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have insisted they will not negotiate a deal as long as Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip continue, reiterating that the prisoner swap must be “all for all”, while Egypt called on all parties to make concessions towards ending the conflict work towards.
Egyptian sources aware of the talks told EFE on condition of anonymityBoth formations reiterated their refusal to negotiate “under Israeli fire.” and they emphasized that the hostage exchange must be “everyone for everyone.”
Given this position Cairo called on all parties to “make concessions.” “to stop the current bloodshed in the Gaza Strip” and to end Israel’s war in the Palestinian enclave, with the aim of “saving civilians from the scourge of war and armed conflict.”
According to sources, Egypt called on Hamas and Islamic Jihad to “move forward on this issue” and to reflect on “the positive results” that would be achieved with the release of the hostages, especially because, according to the sources, there is “Israeli acceptance” of discussing the matter Proposal to exchange 40 prisoners for a temporary two-week ceasefire.
They also reported that Cairo had presented a document to Hamas and Israel to conclude an agreement on the exchange of prisoners and detainees between the two parties, despite the Palestinian Islamist group’s current refusal.