Israel will not agree to a ceasefire, says Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Monday (30) that Israel was not ready to “stop the fight against Hamas” after the group’s terrorist attack on October 7.
Netanyahu also said that “even the most just wars cause unintended civilian casualties.”
In his speech, he explained that the terrorist group Hamas was using civilians as shields and that they were using the civilian losses to blame Israel. “Hamas is doing everything it can to put civilians in danger,” he said.
Netanyahu said Hamas was using hospital basements in Gaza “to spread its networks of terror” and that the group had weapons depots and stole fuel.
The prime minister said there are more than 200 hostages, including children, and all civilized countries should stand with Israel and demand the release of these hostages.
When he said the country would not accept a ceasefire, he drew comparisons to two historical moments in the United States: the attack on the Pearl Harbor base in 1941 and the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Then Netanyahu stated that Israel would not accept a ceasefire now either, just as the US would not accept a ceasefire on these two occasions.
The worst attack since the Holocaust
He also stated in his speech that the Hamas group’s terrorist attacks on Israeli territory on September 7 were the most cruel attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust and that the terrorist group killed children and parents, burned people alive, raped women and beheaded men.
The leader of Israel stated that the country is fighting against enemies of civilization.
Offensive this Monday
According to Israeli authorities, this Monday Israeli troops and tanks attacked Gaza City, the largest and most populous city in the Gaza Strip, by land and in the air. Residents also report that there have been attacks from the sea on this fourth day of Israeli land operations inside the Gaza Strip the Palestinian territory is washed by the Mediterranean Sea.
Gaza City has around 600,000 inhabitants. It lies north of the narrow strip of land in Palestinian territory and is of great importance to the region.
How the current war began
▶️ How did the recent conflict between Hamas and Israel begin? The latest dispute in the region began on October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. This was the most violent action on Israeli territory in the last 50 years. The country’s intelligence services could not have suspected that an offensive of this magnitude was being prepared.
▶️ What is Hamas? The terrorist group is one of the main Islamic organizations in the Palestinian territories (there are two noncontiguous territories: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank). Since 2007, Hamas has controlled Gaza, which lies on a narrow strip of land on Israel’s west coast. The group is considered terrorist by countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, but is supported by Iran.
▶️ How was the attack? The actions were concentrated near the border with the Gaza Strip, from where Hamas fired thousands of rockets. Armed men from the south of the country invaded Israeli territory by land, air and sea, on motorcycles and paragliders. Invaders shot people in the streets and kidnapped hundreds of people (including women and children) and took them hostage to Gaza.
▶️ What was Israel’s reaction? Faced with the Hamas offensive, the Israeli government began retaliatory measures. “We are at war and we will win,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said shortly after the attack. “Our enemy will pay a price he has never known.” Also on October 7, Israel launched bombing raids on the Gaza Strip.
▶️ How many people died? According to the tally released on October 23, more than 6,000 people have died since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7. In the Gaza Strip, the number of victims rose to over 5,000, including 2,000 children. There are 15,898 injured in Gaza. Around 1,400 deaths and 4,000 injuries have been confirmed in Israel, most of them on the day of the Hamas attack on October 7th.
▶️ What is the current context of this conflict? Saudi Arabia and the Israeli government were negotiating to establish formal diplomatic relations. The United States is actively working on this. If Israel and Saudi Arabia become allies, Iran, a common enemy of both, will become even more isolated. “The main motivation of Hamas and Iran.” [para o ataque] It was the desire to disrupt this agreement that threatened to isolate them. The idea was to embarrass Arab leaders who have made peace with Israel or might do so,” said Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
▶️ What is and where is the Gaza Strip? It is a Palestinian territory located on a narrow piece of land on Israel’s western coast, bordering Egypt and washed by the Mediterranean Sea. The city, characterized by poverty and overcrowding, has more than 2 million inhabitants living in an area 41 km long and 10 km wide. Gaza was captured by Israel in the SixDay War in 1967 and handed over to the Palestinians in 2005. Gaza is currently experiencing a blockade of goods and services imposed by its border neighbors.
▶️ What is the history of conflict in the region? The dispute between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades and has resulted in numerous armed clashes and deaths. In its modern form, it dates back to 1947, when the United Nations (UN) proposed the creation of two states, one Jewish and one Arab, in Palestine under a British mandate.
▶️ When was Israel recognized as a state? In 1948. Since then, there has been a dispute over territory in the region, and several agreements have attempted to establish peace in the region, but none of them have been successful.
▶️ What is the difference between Israelis and Palestinians? Israelis are citizens of the State of Israel, founded in 1948. Palestinians are the Muslimmajority ethnic Arab people who lived in the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.