PM Netanyahu claims ‘military pressure working’ against Hamas
The Israeli prime minister has delivered remarks about the status of Israel’s war on Gaza and ceasefire conditions at a government meeting, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel’s cabinet has decided to further ramp up military pressure on Hamas whose positions are “suddenly [showing] cracks”, Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“Military pressure is working. It works because … on the one hand it crushes Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, and on the other hand it creates the conditions for the release of our hostages,” he said in comments carried by Israel’s Arutz Sheva media.
“We are committed to returning the hostages and we are working to return the hostages. To this day, the combination of military pressure and political pressure is the only thing that has returned the hostages.”
Netanyahu says Hamas must disarm, leave Gaza for final truce deal
Israel’s leader has insisted Hamas must “lay down its weapons”, exile its leaders, and turn over security in Gaza to Israel in order to reach the “final stage” of the ceasefire deal.
Israel is planning to proceed with US President Donald Trump’s proposal to empty Gaza of Palestinians, he added, describing it as “voluntary immigration”. “That is the plan. We do not hide it, we are ready to discuss it at any time,” said Netanyahu in comments carried by Arutz Sheva.
Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting: “Hamas must lay down its arms… Its leaders will be allowed to leave.”
He rejected claims Israel isn’t engaged in negotiations aimed at securing the release of captives held in Gaza.
Hamas has accepted a Qatari-Egyptian ceasefire proposal that senior official Khalil al-Hayya said includes delegating civil administration of the Strip to a group of independent technocrats. But the Palestinian group has refused to disarm, calling such a demand a “red line” while there is Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Why hide ethnic cleansing plans when the US president is the one promoting them... Fucked up.
Netanyahu demands ‘diametrically opposed’ to Gaza ceasefire
The counteroffer Israel is making is basically taking things back to square one and to the initial proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff that wants to see 11 Israeli captives released.
There’s a wide gap between that and the offer that Hamas has already accepted, to release five Israeli captives.
We’ve heard in the past two hours from the Israeli prime minister answering his detractors – the families of Israeli captives – who say he’s not interested in freeing those captives.
According to Netanyahu, Israel’s only formula that would be acceptable for the day after the war would be for Hamas to surrender its weapons, to leave the Gaza Strip, and for Israel to completely control the Strip and forcibly expel its Palestinian population.
This is diametrically opposed to the entire formula of the ceasefire agreement in its initial three phases, whereby Israel must withdraw from Gaza.
This is sure to complicate efforts that are under way, where the mediators are trying their best to bring the parties back to the table.
