JERUSALEM — On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country’s focus has moved to getting a full hostage deal, which would free all of the remaining captives at once. Netanyahu made this statement during an interview with i24 News. It comes as a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for another round of ceasefire talks. This shows that negotiations are still possible, even if they broke down last month.
When asked if a partial ceasefire accord was possible, Netanyahu said, “I think it’s behind us.” We tried everything and went through a lot, but in the end, they were just lying to us. He stressed that his main goal is to get all the hostages back, whether they are “alive or dead.”
Conflicting Requests and Increasing Stress
Netanyahu’s new stance fits with a new plan being worked on by Egypt and Qatar, which wants a settlement that would free all hostages in exchange for a long-lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Netanyahu, on the other hand, said that Israel’s demands for the end of the war have not changed: all hostages must be returned, and Hamas must give up. Hamas, on the other hand, has been asking for a full agreement for a long time but says it will only let the remaining hostages go if Israel releases the Palestinians it has imprisoned and leaves Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister’s words come at a time when there is more pressure from other countries and criticism from within Israel. Israel has said it will expand its military onslaught into parts of Gaza where most of the two million people who live there have fled. A lot of people think this threat is a method to put more pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse while talks go on. The United Nations said that hunger and malnutrition are at their worst levels since the war started. Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the U.N., said that the Health Ministry in Gaza said that five individuals died from famine and malnutrition in the last 24 hours. The ministry, which the U.N. and independent experts trust, says that 121 adults and 101 children have died from malnutrition-related reasons during the war. Dujarric said that humanitarian supplies are still much below the minimum needed and are being held up for a long time by Israeli authorities.
Militants accused of pretending to be aid workers
In a different story, the Israeli military said that they recently attacked a group of militants who were pretending to be relief workers and driving a car with the insignia of the international charity World Central Kitchen. Before the strike, the military said it checked with the charity to make sure that the guys and the vehicle were not connected to them. World Central Kitchen acknowledged this and said that anyone pretending to be a humanitarian is “endangering civilians and aid workers.” In April, an Israeli strike accidentally killed seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza. Israel said it was a mistake and started an inquiry.
The attack on October 7, 2023, which started the war, was led by Hamas and resulted in the kidnapping of 251 persons and the deaths of about 1,200 others. The Gaza Health Ministry says that Israel’s military response has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians.