AGI – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this evening that the killing of the three hostages by IDF soldiers on Friday was a “terrible tragedy.”
“It broke my heart and that of the entire nation,” Netanyahu said, adding: “We will not relent in military and political efforts to return our hostages. Military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for victory. Without military pressure, we have nothing.”
Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to the Palestinian Authority taking control of the Gaza Strip at the end of the war, despite US support. “We must speak the truth and not cultivate illusions,” he said. “After the elimination of Hamas, the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized and under the control of the Israeli security forces. Despite the pain, despite international pressure, we will move forward.” Nothing will stop us until the end.
“The Gaza Strip will be demilitarized”
After Hamas is eliminated, the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized and under Israeli security control. “Despite the pain, despite the international pressure, we will continue to the end, nothing will stop us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this evening.
“I,” Netanyahu continued, “am proud of having blocked the creation of a Palestinian state.” Journalists asked him why he had not withdrawn from the Oslo Accords, which he had always criticized. “I inherited it. The decision to take the PLO out of Tunis and establish it in the heart of Judea and Samaria and in Gaza,” he recalled, “was made and implemented before I became prime minister. I thought that was terrible.” I'm a mistake, and I still think that. You and your journalist friends have been accusing me of holding back the Oslo Accords and preventing a Palestinian state for almost 30 years. This is true. I am proud to have prevented the creation of a Palestinian state because “Today everyone understands what this Palestinian state could have been after we saw the small Palestinian state in Gaza. Everyone understands what would have happened if we had capitulated to international pressure and allowed a state like the one in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), which surrounds Jerusalem and the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
Ongoing negotiations with Qatar confirmed
Netanyahu confirmed that new negotiations mediated by Qatar were underway. The prime minister dodged a question at a news conference about Friday's meeting in Europe between his chief negotiator, Mossad chief David Barnea, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. However, he confirmed that he had given instructions to the negotiating team.
“We have serious criticism of Qatar, which you will probably hear about in due course, but at the moment we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages,” he said. Netanyahu said he would not reveal details of the talks. “There is one mistake we can make: we submit our calculations to Hamas, to the world. We will not go into the details of the negotiations.”
UNICEF: “Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world for children”
“Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.” This stated Unicef, adding: “Whole neighborhoods where children played and went to school were turned into piles of rubble. Children need an immediate and lasting humanitarian ceasefire. Now.”
In the last two months – writes the Guardian – around 8,000 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli air strikes
13 Palestinians killed for every Israeli killed
The Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry said in an update that the death toll had risen to at least 19,088 dead and more than 54,450 injured. Since October 7, there have been more than 13 Palestinian deaths for every Israeli death.
The ministry – writes the Palestinian agency Wafa – stated in a press release that the documented number of victims in the Gaza Strip had reached 18,800, while the death toll in the West Bank also rose to 288. In addition, the ministry stated that 51,000 Palestinians were injured in Gaza and nearly 3,450 more in the West Bank.
The casualties in Gaza included over 300 health workers, 86 journalists, 35 civil defense workers and 135 UNRWA staff.
A senior Hamas official says more than 8,000 people are missing under the rubble due to Israeli bombing, adding to the death toll of more than 19,000 people. He said 70% of the dead and missing were women and children.
Biden to Israel: “More attention to civilians”
US President Joe Biden has called for more attention. “I want them to focus on saving civilian lives, Don't stop hunting Hamas, just be more careful“ His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, came to Israel and the West Bank to reiterate the message. “We do not believe that it is sensible or right for Israel to occupy Gaza in the long term,” he told reporters after meeting with Israeli officials.
Likewise, several Western governments have called on Israel to “take concrete measures to stop the unprecedented violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers” in the West Bank, where eight Palestinians have been killed and 83 injured in just over two months.
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