War in Gaza turns six months old; Netanyahu rejects ceasefire without return of hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated this Sunday, six months into the war in the Gaza Strip, that there will be no truce agreement if the 133 hostages still in the hands of Hamas do not return home, adding that Israel will not give in to the “extreme demands” of the Islamists.

“I made (something) clear to the international community: there will be no ceasefire without the return of the kidnapped people. It simply will not happen,” Netanyahu said today in a speech before meeting with his cabinet, and recalled that the Administration of the American president, Joe Biden shares your same opinion.

He added that Israel is not opposed to a truce agreement and blamed Hamas for “extreme demands” aimed at ending the war “to ensure its survival, its rehabilitation, (and) its ability to endanger” citizens. and Israeli soldiers again.

“Giving in to Hamas’s demands will allow it to try to repeat the crimes of October 7 over and over againas he promised to do,” he said, called for international pressure against Hamas and not against Israel.

This same night there is a massive anti-government demonstration called in Jerusalem, in which not only activists will participate but also some of the relatives of the captives, who blame Netanyahu for being more concerned about their political survival than about returning his loved ones home.

“Citizens of Israel, there is no more just war than this and we are determined to end it with a total victory,” said Netanyahu, in addition to listing the three objectives that he has repeated since October: return the kidnapped, eliminate Hamas throughout the Strip Gaza, “including Rafah,” and ensuring that Gaza “no longer poses a threat.”

According to Netanyahu, Israeli troops have eliminated “19 of the 24 Hamas battalions, including senior commanders,” in addition to having captured militants and “purged” Al Shifa Hospital, the most important in the Gaza Strip and now totally inoperative. after two weeks of Israeli siege and destruction.

“We destroy rocket factories, weapons, ammunition and we continue systematically destroying the subsoil (in reference to the Hamas tunnels). We are one step away from victory. But the price that is exacted from us is painful and heartbreaking,” he said as a summary of these six months.

In Gaza, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry of the Hamas Government, 33,175 people have died, two-thirds women and children. In addition, nearly 75,890 people have been injured and some 7,000 bodies remain under tons of rubble.

Appeal for an Israeli national unionin

Netanyahu also blamed Iran for the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, which left 1,200 dead on Israeli soil and triggered the war, and urged its citizens to unite “in the need to continue fighting until complete victory” in Gaza.

“This war revealed to the world what Israel always knew: Iran is the one behind the attack against us through its proxies. And these are many attacks. Since October 7, we have been attacked on many fronts by Iran’s affiliates : Hamas (in Gaza), Hezbollah (on the northern border), the Houthis (in Yemen), militias in Iraq and Syria, and also other attacks,” he listed.

And he warned that Israel “is prepared – in defense and attack – for any attempt” that seeks to harm it from anywhere. Nevertheless, He recalled that for this a national “unity” is necessary; in a clear allusion to members of both the War Cabinet such as Benny Gantz, or opposition leaders such as Yair Lapidwho ask for early elections.

“Precisely at this moment, an extreme and violent minority is trying to drag the country into division. There is nothing our enemies want more. They want internal division and gratuitous hatred to stop us just short of victory,” Netanyahu said , who opposes the elections while the offensive in Gaza lasts.

“The absolute majority of the people are united in the need to continue fighting until victory,” he added, despite the fact that massive demonstrations have been taking place for a week that demand, among other demands such as the return of captives, the end of his government.