Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the country will continue its war with Hamas even after the “pause to return our hostages,” until Israel achieves all its war aims.
Netanyahu made these remarks on Tuesday ahead of an expected Cabinet vote on a ceasefire proposal. “While this meeting is to discuss the return of our hostages, I would like to start with something/… there is a lot of nonsense out there to the effect that after the pause to return our hostages, we will stop the war. Then, let me make it clear. We are at war –and we will continue the war,” Netanyahu said, as reported by ANI.
As per a report in Jerusalem Post, the Israeli cabinet in a late-night decision approved a ‘partial hostage deal’ that includes a temporary pause in Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza in exchange for the release of around 80 people held hostage by Hamas. The 80 people include mostly children and women, and are among the 239 people taken hostage by Hamas on 7th October.
However, some other media reports from Israel say that the pause will see the release of about 12-13 hostages each day, totaling about 50 hostages. The Israeli government has stated that the release of every additional 10 hostages will earn Hamas another day of ‘pause’ in the war.
Times of Israel reported that the Israeli government has also agreed to release women and minor Palestinians lodged in Israeli prisons, mostly from West Bank and East Jerusalem. The number of Palestinians to be released by Israel is not confirmed yet.
“We will continue the war until we achieve all our war aims: To eliminate Hamas, return all our hostages and missing persons and ensure that there is no element in Gaza that threatens Israel,” he added.
Netanyahu, speaking further said that the return of the hostages is a supreme task and he is obligated to it.
The Israeli Prime Minister said, “Yesterday evening I met with the members of the war cabinet, members of hostages’ families, I listened closely to their plight. With shaking voices, with sometimes tears, they described the nightmare they were in.”
“I told the dear families: Returning our hostages is a sacred and supreme task. and I am obligated to do it together with my colleagues…There is no greater precept than redeeming captives until we redeem them all. We will not relent in our efforts until we redeem them all,” the Israeli PM said.
Reiterating that the war with Hamas will continue, Netanyahu further added by saying, “The war will continue until we achieve all our goals. Eliminating Hamas, returning all our hostages and assuring that the day after Hamas, Gaza will no longer threaten Israel, that there will be no longer an element that supports terrorism, and threaten the state of Israel.”
In a stern warning to the Palestinian authority following their denial of Hamas’ involvement in the October 7 assault on Israel, Netanyahu on Sunday said that the day Hamas is eliminated by Israel, it will not allow whoever runs the civil administration in Gaza to support terrorism.
The conflict in Gaza escalated after the October 7 attack by Hamas, where about 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to casualties and the seizure of hostages.
Hamas terrorists seized about 240 hostages during the assault when they surged across Gaza’s militarised border into southern Israel to kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians who were massacred at their homes and fleeing a music festival amid brutal atrocities, The Times of Israel reported.
The hostages are of all ages and include young children and elderly people, as well as Thai and Nepali nationals.
( With inputs from ANI)
