Gaza | Permanent ceasefire not possible, says Netanyahu

(Tel Aviv) Israel’s prime minister said Saturday that a permanent ceasefire in Gaza is not possible until long-standing conditions for ending the war are met, appearing to call into question causes a proposal that US President Joe Biden had announced as being an Israeli initiative.

The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came a day after Mr. Biden presented the plan, and as the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas called on all parties to immediately accept the proposal.

“The conditions imposed by Israel to end the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and government capabilities, the release of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” the statement said. . Under this proposal, Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. »

In a separate statement, Mr. Netanyahu accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to deliver a speech at the Capitol in a show of wartime support. No date has been set.

Mr. Biden said Friday that Hamas was “no longer capable” of carrying out a large-scale attack on Israel, like the one carried out in October by the militant group that started the war. He urged Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement to release the remaining 100 hostages, as well as repatriate the bodies of around 30 others, with a view to a prolonged ceasefire.

Ceasefire talks broke down last month after the United States and other mediators attempted to broker a deal in hopes of averting a massive Israeli invasion of the town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israel says the Rafah operation is essential to rooting out Hamas fighters responsible for the October 7 attack.

Israel confirmed Friday that its troops were operating in the city’s central neighborhoods. The ground assault forced around a million Palestinians to leave Rafah and disrupted humanitarian operations. The World Food Program has described living conditions as “horrible and apocalyptic” as hunger increases.

The families of the hostages argued that time was running out.

“This may be the last chance to save lives,” Gili Roman told the Associated Press. Her sister, Yarden Roman-Gat, was released during a week-long ceasefire in November, but her sister-in-law Carmel remains detained.

“Our leadership must not disappoint us, but above all, all eyes must be on Hamas,” added Mr. Roman.

The families described a testy meeting Thursday with Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, who told them the government was not ready to sign a deal to bring all the hostages home and that it would not There was no plan B.

Mr. Hanegbi said this week that he expects the war to continue for another seven months to destroy the military and government capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group.

Many hostage families accuse the government of lacking the will to reach an agreement.

An agreement in three phases

The first phase of President Biden’s proposed deal would last six weeks and include a “total and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women. elderly and wounded people, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The second phase would include the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase would call for the start of major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding after the ravages of war.

Mr. Biden acknowledged that it would be difficult to keep the proposal on track, with “details to negotiate” to move from the first phase to the second. Mr. Biden asserted that if Hamas did not respect its commitments under the agreement, Israel could resume its military operations.

Hamas said Friday it viewed the proposal “positively” and called on Israel to declare its explicit commitment to a deal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, an exchange of prisoners and other conditions.

The main difference from previous proposals is the desire to stop the war for an indefinite period, analysts say. That leaves Israel open to resuming war and diminishing Hamas’ ability to govern, but over time, said Michael Milshtein, director of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center.

Also on Saturday, Egyptian public broadcaster Al-Qahera News reported that Egyptian, American and Israeli officials would meet in Cairo this weekend to discuss the Rafah crossing, closed since Israel took control of the Palestinian side in May. .

The crossing is one of the main means of delivering aid to Gaza. Egypt refused to open its side, fearing that Israeli control would remain permanent. Egypt wants the Palestinians to regain power.