Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is “one step away from victory” but insists there will be no ceasefire without the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Marking six months since the war broke out, Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting: “We are one step away from victory. But the price we paid is painful and heartbreaking.”
It comes as a new round of truce talks are due to begin in Egypt later today.
Netanyahu said that despite growing international pressure, Israel will not give in to “extreme” demands from Hamas.
Hamas is believed to still be holding about 100 hostages in Gaza tunnels, among the 250 or so it captured in its shock October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. As of mid-February, 112 hostages have been freed, most during a week-long cease-fire in November, while 36 more are believed to have died or been killed in Gaza during the six months of fighting.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry stated that Israel’s counter-offensive has killed more than 33,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children. The Israeli military says that the total includes thousands of militants it has killed.
Netanyahu said that despite growing international pressure, including from its chief ally, the United States, Israel would not give in to “extreme” demands from Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, that it pull all its troops from the narrow territory along the Mediterranean Sea.
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