Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the war in the Gaza Strip “must not end before Israel kills the Hamas leadership.” The statement was made during a meeting of his party, Likud, this Monday (5).
“Our goal is an absolute victory over Hamas. We are going to kill the Hamas leadership, so we must continue to act in all areas of the Gaza Strip. The war must not end before then. It will take time, months, not years”, said the prime minister.
With this, Netanyahu reiterated his rejection of any permanent ceasefire agreement with the terrorist group, which imposes such a proposal in exchange for the hostages that have remained in the enclave since October.
A newspaper report New York Times in late January he stated that US-led negotiators are very close to signing a new truce that would suspend Israel's attacks for about two months in exchange for the release of the hostages. According to the newspaper, the agreement could be signed in the coming weeks.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making his 5th visit to the Middle East since the start of the war. This Monday (5), he met in Riyadh with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, with whom he analyzed efforts to achieve “security and stability” in the region in the face of growing tension between the countries.
According to the official Saudi news agency SPAthe two authorities “analyzed aspects of bilateral relations and prospects for joint cooperation, in addition to discussing the evolution of the regional situation and efforts to achieve security and stability”, without providing further details.
According to the US State Department, Blinken “stressed the importance of meeting humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and preventing the spread of conflict” in the Middle East. Both discussed “the urgent need to reduce regional tensions, including the cessation of Houthi attacks that undermine both freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the progress of the peace process in Yemen.”
The new trip comes after the intelligence chiefs of Israel, the US and Egypt, as well as the Qatari prime minister, reached a proposed agreement on a new truce and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners after two days of meetings in Paris last week. This draft was then passed to the political leadership of Hamas, which is currently studying the proposal.
In this context, the head of the militia's political office, Ismail Haniyeh, called on Friday (2) for “a complete end to fighting” in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of the hostages and said that Islamic Jihad, another terrorist group that operates in the Strip, is demanding the same.
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