Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that there will not be a general ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as its forces intensify attacks on Hamas militants.
Netanyahu made the remark during an interview on U.S. television on Monday.
“There’ll be no ceasefire, no general ceasefire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu stated.
“As far as tactical little pauses, an hour here, an hour there.
“We’ve had them before, I suppose, and we’ll check the circumstances to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages to leave. But I don’t think there’s going to be a general ceasefire.”
Israel’s prime minister had previously discussed temporary ceasefires in the Gaza war with US President Joe Biden.
They addressed the potential of “tactical pauses” to allow civilians to flee battle zones, give humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza, and enable the release of additional hostages, the White House said after the phone call on Monday.
No fewer than 240 people, including U.S. citizens, are still being held by the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu stated that a general ceasefire would run counter to Israel’s war aims.
“It’ll hamper our effort to get our hostages out because the only thing that works on these criminals in Hamas is the military pressure that we’re exerting,” he added.
According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict a month ago has increased to more than 10,000.
Israel has nearly fully walled off the Gaza Strip since Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli communities, murdering over 1,400 people, including many women, children, and young people, and kidnapping 240 more.
