Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded his visit to Washington on Thursday with a statement about securing the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip.
After days of meetings with officials at the White House, Netanyahu declined to describe what decisions he may have made with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“What has been agreed upon between President Trump and me, on issues pertaining to Gaza, the region and even beyond the region, will be discussed at a later time,” he stated.
The Israeli leader said he had met with the families of living and dead hostages in D.C. on Wednesday and told them that he was “determined” that they be returned.
“I told them we are now attempting to achieve a release of half of the living and deceased hostages, in return for a temporary ceasefire of 60 days,” Netanyahu said. “In the beginning of that ceasefire, we will enter negotiations on a permanent end to the war—that is, a permanent ceasefire.”
“In order for us to achieve that, this has to be done on the minimal conditions that we’ve set: Hamas lays down its arms, Gaza is demilitarized, there are no longer any governing or military capabilities of Hamas,” he added. “These are our fundamental conditions.”
Netanyahu also addressed concerns about why it has been so difficult to defeat Hamas militarily or reach a deal with them diplomatically and described the restrictions that the Biden administration had placed on Israel.
“We have had to contend with an American embargo: ‘Do not enter Rafah,’ ‘Do not conquer the Philadelphi Corridor,’” he said. “Those are not simple matters. We overcame that, and now we wish to complete that move.”
“We keep advancing in the Gaza Strip and retrieving deceased hostages,” he added. “We’re doing it in parallel—not pushing it aside even for a moment—and now as well, we’re not pushing it aside even for a moment.”
He also alluded to the public controversy in Israel about whether or not to prioritize the release of some hostages over others after he reportedly received analysis last week on the medical condition of each of the living hostages. One is believed to be at risk of permanent blindness; others are suffering from untreated chronic illnesses, including muscular dystrophy.
“We’re dealing with a brutal terrorist organization,” Netanyahu stated. “We, of course, would like to rescue everyone, and as far as we’re concerned, all of the hostages are humanitarian cases.”
He stressed: “I wish to rescue everyone all at once. Here we are dealing with two stages, but the choice isn’t always in our hands. We will do everything to maximize this release in the best way possible, but not everything is up to us.”
