Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today warned that the “conditions“ of Tel Aviv to achieve a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza have not changed and include “destruction” of “Hamas”, as well as “release of all held hostages”, France Press and BTA reported.
„Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed,” Netanyahu's office said in a statement, a day after US President Joe Biden unveiled Israel's road map for peace, nearly eight months after the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
Netanyahu's office mentioned as such “the destruction of the military and governance capacity of “Hamas”, the release of all hostages and guarantees that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel”.
„According to the proposal, Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is reached,”, the text, written in English, also says. “The idea that Israel will agree to a permanent truce before these conditions are met is doomed to failure,” added the same source.
Yesterday, the American president, who is an ally of Israel, presented the Israeli plan for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages - a new road map described by “Hamas” as “positive“.
„We cannot pass up this opportunity for a deal in Gaza,”, Joe Biden said. “It is time for this war to end,”, he added.
According to Biden, the first stage will involve a complete ceasefire, with Israeli troops withdrawing from “populated areas of Gaza” for a period of six weeks.
He added that the cessation of hostilities would be accompanied by the release of some Israeli hostages, particularly women and sick people, kidnapped during the brutal attack by “Hamas” against Israel on October 7, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The temporary cease-fire could become “permanent” if Hamas “lives up to its commitments”, the Democratic-elect president added. The next phase of the plan will involve the release of all hostages still held captive in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that at least 36,379 Palestinians have been killed and 82,407 wounded since the start of the Israeli offensive in October, Reuters reported.
About 95 Palestinians have been killed and 350 wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry added. According to the statement, thousands of other dead are likely still buried under the rubble of the destroyed buildings in the enclave.