The Israeli leader says the IDF will continue to operate in Gaza until Hamas is eliminated
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will only agree to a partial deal with Hamas that allows him to restart the assault after a pause to exchange hostages. The remarks show that Netanyahu is unwilling to sign on to an agreement proposed by President Joe Biden.
On Sunday night, speaking with Channel 14, Netanyahu said he was “prepared to make a partial deal — this is no secret — that will return to us some of the people.” He continued, “But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I’m not willing to give up on that.”
An official who spoke with Channel 12, conveyed the partial deal is the best offer Hamas will get from Tel Aviv. “The mediators are unable to convey the idea to Hamas that there will be no better deal than the one proposed by Israel,” the source explained. “We have reached a situation where there is no movement. Israel has gone as far as it can go. President Biden has adopted the proposal.”
However, Netanyahu’s temporary pause is a rejection of the three-phase deal that Biden proposed at the end of May that the president claimed originated in Tel Aviv. That agreement would see a ceasefire for negotiations and a hostage exchange. Phases two and three of the Biden deal call for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent end to the fighting, and the rebuilding of the Strip.
Biden’s proposal resembles one put forward by Hamas months ago. The Palestinian group said it viewed the White House’s offer positively but sought to amend the deal to make the Israeli concessions more concrete. Both Tel Aviv and Washington have continued to present Hamas as the barrier to achieving an agreement.
Netanyahu’s remarks come amid a rift between Washington and Tel Aviv. The Israeli prime minister has criticized Washington several times over the past week for slowing down weapons shipments to Tel Aviv. US officials explained on Sunday that they had removed the expedited process for shipping weapons to Israel that was put in place after October 7.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have stated that Tel Aviv is planning to reduce military operations in Gaza sometime soon. However, Israel may want to keep a faster pace of weapons shipments coming from the US as it may escalate the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
