He spoke exclusively with “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir.
November 6, 2023, 8:01 p.m. ET
• 7 min reading
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again rejected the idea of a ceasefire in Gaza without releasing the hostages and also discussed Gaza’s post-war future in an exclusive interview with David Muir, host of ABC News’ “World News Tonight.”
President Joe Biden and senior administration officials have pressed Israel for temporary “humanitarian” pauses in fighting to allow more aid to reach Gaza and more civilians to escape fighting in the Palestinian enclave.
According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu only discussed the matter on Monday, but no agreement was reached. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said the administration viewed the parties as “at the beginning of this conversation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with David Muir, host of ABC World News Tonight, November 6, 2023.ABC News
“What they are proposing is a humanitarian pause, there will be no pause?” Muir pressed Netanyahu shortly after he spoke with Biden.
“Well, without the release of our hostages, there will be no ceasefire, no general ceasefire in Gaza,” Netanyahu replied. “As far as the tactical little breaks, an hour here, an hour there. I assume we have had them before, we will review the circumstances to allow the entry of goods, humanitarian goods or the departure of our hostages, individual hostages.” . But I don’t think there will be a general ceasefire.”
Netanyahu continued: “I think it will hinder the war effort. It will hinder our efforts to get our hostages out because the only thing that works with these criminals in Hamas is the military pressure we apply.”
Muir then asked Netanyahu whether there would be such a break if Hamas agreed to release hostages. According to Israeli officials, 241 people are being held by the militant group.
“There will be a ceasefire for this purpose,” Netanyahu replied.
The months-long conflict in Gaza has killed more than 10,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. This includes 4,104 children. In Israel, more than 1,400 people died and 6,900 were injured, the prime minister’s office said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with David Muir, host of ABC World News Tonight, November 6, 2023.ABC News
Future control of Gaza?
The Biden administration is walking a diplomatic tightrope, defending Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas while also trying to reduce civilian deaths and seeking a path forward for the Palestinians after the conflict ends.
Muir noted that Biden had previously said it would be a “mistake” for Israel to occupy Gaza and asked Netanyahu who should govern the territory when fighting ends.
The prime minister indicated that he believed Israel would play a role “indefinitely.” Last month, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant suggested that the final phase of the conflict would involve cutting off “Israel’s responsibility for life in Gaza” and creating a “new security reality for the citizens of Israel.”
“Those who do not want to continue the path of Hamas,” Netanyahu told Muir. “It certainly isn’t – I think Israel will have overall responsibility for security indefinitely because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it. “If we don’t have this security responsibility, what we have is the outbreak of Hamas terror on a scale we cannot imagine.”
Asked whether the Biden administration agreed with or supported Netanyahu’s view, Kirby said discussions about Gaza’s future were ongoing and nothing had been decided yet.
“We support Hamas no longer being able to control Gaza,” Kirby said. “We can’t go back to October 6th.”
“We are having discussions with our Israeli counterparts about what governance in Gaza should look like post-conflict, and I don’t think there have been any solutions one way or the other,” Kirby continued. “Who will do what and for how long?” So this is an active discussion that we are having not only with Israel, but also with other partners in the region, because clearly, whatever it looks like, it cannot look the way it did,” as I did on the sixth October said.