Benjamin Netanyahu
On Friday, after US President Joe Biden stated Israel had offered a new peace roadmap, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared the Gaza war would not stop until the elimination of Hamas’s capacity to govern and wage war.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office noted, “The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the negotiating team to present an outline for achieving (the return of hostages) while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities”.
It went on to say, “The exact outline proposed by Israel, including the conditional transition from stage to stage, allows Israel to maintain these principles”.
In his first major statement outlining a solution to the eight-month conflict, Biden said the approach began with a six-week phase in which Israeli soldiers would withdraw from all populous areas in Gaza.
In a televised address from the White House, the US President said, “It’s time for this war to end, for the day after to begin”.
Biden went on to say, “We can’t lose this moment to seize the chance for peace”.
The Gaza war began with Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed around 1,189 people.
Militants also kidnapped 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37, who the army claims are dead.
According to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, Israel’s retaliatory operation has killed at least 36,284 individuals.
