Netanyahu wants to continue exerting pressure: "Until we have destroyed Hamas"

Israel - Netanyahu wants to continue exerting pressure: "Until we have destroyed Hamas"

While the accidental killing of three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip by its own soldiers continues to stir people up, the government is continuing the war against the Islamist Hamas undeterred. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that the military pressure on Hamas must be maintained. Only in this way could it be defeated and the return of all abductees achieved. "We are more determined than ever to continue to the end, until we have destroyed Hamas and brought back all our abductees," Netanyahu said.

Protesters put pressure on Israel's government

Meanwhile, released hostages, relatives of hostages and hundreds of supporters demonstrated again on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv for the release of those still abducted in the Gaza Strip. Noam Perry, a relative of a hostage, accused Netanyahu's war cabinet of claiming that military pressure was necessary for the hostages to be released. "In the meantime, more and more hostages are coming back as corpses," said Perry. According to Israeli estimates, 112 hostages are still being held.

Meanwhile, Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi took responsibility for the accidental killing of the three Israeli hostages. "The army and I as its commander are responsible for what happened and we will do everything to prevent such cases from happening again in the future of fighting," he said in a video published on X.

Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi:

"The incident in which IDF soldiers accidentally killed Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer El-Talalka, is a difficult and painful event. The three hostages, who survived 70 days of hell, moved toward IDF soldiers and… pic.twitter.com/ybybIfiFMG

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) December 16, 2023

Military chief: No shooting under a white flag

At the same time, he made it clear that people with a white flag who want to surrender must not be shot at. Rules of engagement were violated when the hostages were killed on Friday. "The three hostages did everything so that we would recognize them as such - they had taken off their shirts so that we could see that they were not wearing explosive belts, and they were holding a white flag," said Halevi.

At the same time, he pointed out that the soldiers were in an active combat zone. Terrorists are active there in civilian clothes and every decision can make the difference between life and death in a fraction of a second. The only consolation for the families of the fallen soldiers is that their deaths were not in vain, explained Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu according to the newspaper "The Times of Israel". Therefore, "we will ensure that we continue to fight until we achieve total victory", said Netanyahu.

Reports of negotiations with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his determination to continue the war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The only consolation for the families of the fallen soldiers is that their deaths were not in vain, Netanyahu said on Saturday evening according to the newspaper "The Times of Israel". Therefore, "we will ensure that we continue to fight until we achieve total victory". In response to Hamas' demands for a cessation of fighting and the withdrawal of troops, Netanyahu was quoted as saying: "The moment we capitulate to this demand, Hamas has won. And we are obliged to eliminate (Hamas) and get all the hostages back".

Netanyahu wants to continue to exert "military pressure" on the militant Palestinian organization, as he made clear on Saturday evening. He described this "pressure" as essential for renewed negotiations with Hamas. The instructions he was giving the Israeli negotiating team were "based on this pressure, and without it we have nothing", Netanyahu emphasized. However, Hamas declared on Saturday that it would not be prepared to enter into new negotiations on the release of hostages if "the aggression against our people does not stop completely".

Netanyahu did not speak specifically about possible new negotiations with Hamas. However, media reports stated that following the accidental killing of the three hostages, the Israeli government is turning back to the path of negotiations.

Situation of civilians in Gaza remains unbearable

Meanwhile, the situation of the Palestinian civilian population remains unbearable. The severely damaged largest hospital in Gaza, Shifa, is only "minimally functional" and urgently needs to be able to resume at least the most basic functions "to continue providing life-saving medical care to the thousands of people who need it", the WHO said on Sunday.

One of its own teams described the emergency room as a "bloodbath", with new patients arriving every minute. Only a handful of doctors, a few nurses and 70 volunteers were still working under "incredibly difficult" conditions in the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. The operating theaters are not functioning because there is a lack of fuel, oxygen, specialist staff and supplies. There is also no blood for transfusions, it was said.

US President Joe Biden had called on Israel to show more consideration for the civilian population in the war, which has been going on for more than two months. Following talks with the Israeli leadership, the US government had recently expressed the expectation that Israel would switch from a "high-intensity" military approach to "more targeted" operations. No timeframe for this was specified.

Israeli army reports death of two soldiers in Gaza

According to the army, two more Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. As the Israeli army announced on Sunday morning, one of the two soldiers was killed in fighting in the north of the coastal strip sealed off by Israel. The other was killed in the south. This means that 121 soldiers have already been killed since the start of the Israeli ground offensive at the end of October.

Baerbock and Cameron call for a permanent ceasefire

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her British counterpart David Cameron called for a permanent ceasefire in a joint article for the British Sunday Times: "Our goal cannot simply be an end to the fighting today. It must be a peace that lasts for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is permanent." However, an end to the fighting is currently not in sight.

What will be important on Sunday

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the Middle East. The stops are Israel, Qatar and Bahrain. In Israel, he wants to talk to the military leadership about a possible end to the intensive ground operations and air strikes. In Qatar, Austin wants to meet US forces stationed there, among others. In Bahrain, the Minister intends to visit the US Naval Forces Central Command.