'No way' Israel will halt war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated, says Netanyahu
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza, even if a deal is reached to release more hostages.
His comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas released the last living American hostage on Monday in a gesture to US president Donald Trump, who is visiting the region but skipping Israel.
They suggested a potentially widening rift between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump, who had expressed hope that Monday’s release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander would be a step towards ending the 19-month war.
In comments released by his office on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. … It means destroying Hamas”.
Any ceasefire deal would be temporary, the prime minister said. If Hamas said they would release more hostages, “we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war”, he said, adding: “We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.”
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The dispute over whether to end the conflict has been the main obstacle in negotiations going back more than a year.
Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with as many as 23 said to be alive, although authorities have expressed concern about the condition of three of them. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the attack that started the war on October 7 2023 have been freed in ceasefire deals.
Monday’s release of 21-year-old Mr Alexander resulted from negotiations between Hamas and the Trump administration that appeared to have largely bypassed Israel, which made no concessions for his release.
Mr Alexander, who was 19 when he was taken from an Israeli army base during the 2023 attack, was the first hostage released since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.
“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Mr Trump wrote on social media on Sunday evening.
“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”
Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing Gaza and displacing much of the territory’s population again. Days before the ceasefire ended in March, Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis and sparking warnings about the risk of famine if the blockade is not lifted.
Israel says the steps are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel’s terms.
The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 57 children had died from the effects of malnutrition since the blockade began on March 2.
Also on Tuesday, the Israeli military struck what it said was a Hamas “command and control centre” beneath a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The strike on the European Hospital was the day’s second strike on a hospital in the city.
The bodies of six people who were killed in Tuesday afternoon’s strike were taken to the Nasser Hospital. Earlier on Tuesday, Israel struck the latter site, saying militants were operating inside it. Two people, including a journalist who was targeted in an earlier strike, were killed.
Mr Alexander’s release created a backlash against Mr Netanyahu, who critics accuse of putting the lives of the hostages in danger by continuing the war. He says he is committed to returning all the hostages, destroying Hamas and resettling much of Gaza’s population through what he refers to as “voluntary emigration”.
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