12/25/2023 8:20 pm (current 12/25/2023 8:20 pm)
Search for dead after Israeli airstrike in Gaza Strip ©APA/AFP
Islamist Hamas rejected a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war and called for a permanent ceasefire. “We reiterate that there will be no negotiations without a comprehensive cessation of aggression,” the terrorist organization said on Monday night. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an increase in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. The war will be “long” and “not near the end”.
Hamas leadership is committed to “a complete and not just a temporary end to the massacres of our population,” the Hamas statement continues. Radical Islamists reacted to a report in Arab media that Egypt had drawn up a plan to end the war in Gaza in several phases. As the Saudi television channel Ashark News reported on Sunday, the first phase would be to impose a ceasefire that lasts at least two weeks. During this period, 40 hostages held in the Gaza Strip would be exchanged for 120 Palestinians held in Israel.
In a second phase, there should be a Palestinian dialogue under the auspices of Egypt to “end the division” and form a technocratic government, he said. This passage refers to the rivalry between the two largest Palestinian groups, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah and Islamic Hamas. Only in a third phase should there be a complete ceasefire and a comprehensive agreement on the exchange of hostages and prisoners, which should lead to a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.
According to a report in the Times of Israel newspaper, Israel's war cabinet planned to address the Egyptian proposal on Monday. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to troops in the Gaza Strip that Israel would “deepen the fighting in the coming days.” He spoke of a long struggle against Hamas, the end of which is not imminent.
During a speech before the Knesset, Netanyahu later promised to release hostages from the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas who were still in the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli army needs “more time” to increase military pressure on Hamas. Relatives of the hostages booed Netanyahu several times during his speech and chanted “Now! Now!” to support their calls for more efforts to free hostages more quickly.
Following heavy Israeli attacks in the central Gaza Strip, the search for the dead continued in the rubble on Monday. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health spoke on Monday of a large number of deaths and injuries, whose rescue efforts were ongoing. More than 70 people were reportedly killed in airstrikes in the Al-Maghazi refugee district. The information has not yet been independently verified.
The war between Israel and Hamas has lasted 80 days. The trigger was a large-scale attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, in which around 1,140 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has carried out massive attacks on Palestinian territory – with the stated aim of destroying Hamas. According to the latest figures from the Hamas Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 20,670 people have been killed so far.