Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a recent closed meeting about the hostages that fighting in Gaza would resume following any ceasefire agreement with Hamas, according to a report on Monday on Channel 12‘s website.
“If there is a deal—and I hope there will be—Israel will return to fighting afterward. There’s no reason to obscure or conceal this because resuming fighting is intended to complete the war’s objectives. This doesn’t obstruct a deal; it encourages one,” the news outlet quoted the premier as saying.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the report, which also claimed that some negotiators have expressed concern over Netanyahu’s stance, because Hamas demands international guarantees for the later stages of an agreement. The terrorist group has previously insisted on an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Jerusalem’s three war goals are to eradicate Hamas as a military and political body, bring all of the hostages home and prevent Gaza from re-emerging as a security threat to Israel in the future.
Negotiations for the release of 34 hostages remain stalled due to Hamas’s refusal to release 12 individuals, instead offering to return their bodies, a Palestinian source told Kan News on Monday.
Hamas has agreed to release 22 live hostages but insists on substituting the remaining 12 with deceased individuals. According to the source, Netanyahu has rejected this proposal.
Under the agreement, Israel provided the terror organization with a list of 34 hostages to be transferred in the first stage.
One hundred hostages are remaining in Gaza, including 64 that Israel believes to be alive.
Netanyahu said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 20, “I’m not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas. We’re not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It’s not going to happen.”
