Israel will return to fighting if 60-day truce doesn’t bring deal to end Gaza war: Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is determined to bring back all the hostages and is willing to end the war if Hamas agrees to Israel’s terms and that he had told the same to the hostage families the previous night. In a video statement from Washington, Netanyahu said, “I told them that we are currently trying to achieve the release of half of the hostages, both alive and dead, in exchange for a temporary ceasefire of 60 days.”
“At the beginning of this ceasefire, negotiations will be entered into to end the war permanently. That is, a permanent ceasefire. In order for us to achieve this, this must be done under the minimum conditions that we have set: Hamas lays down its weapons, Gaza is demilitarised, and Hamas no longer has any governmental or military capabilities. These are our basic conditions.”

Israel has made those demands throughout the war that began with the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.

“If this can be achieved through negotiations—that’s great. If it is not achieved through negotiations in 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways; by using force, the force of our heroic army,” he said after speaking at a memorial service for two embassy employees who were murdered in May.

“We said the same thing about Iran, removing the nuclear threat,” he continued. “If this is achieved in 60 days of negotiations between the United States and Iran, that’s great. But if it is not achieved, it will be achieved in another way.”

‘This is a war zone that no army in the world has faced’

Netanyahu said he often hears questions about why the war in Gaza is taking so long. “First of all, this is a war zone that no army in the world has faced,” he explains. “And thanks to the heroism of the fighters, thanks to the sacrifice of the fallen, thanks to the creativity, we dismantled most of Hamas’s military capabilities. But not all of them. There are still thousands of fighters there with weapons. And we want to act, again, with a combination of diplomacy and military force, and military force if diplomacy doesn’t work, to complete the mission.”

He also said that the US, under Joe Biden’s administration, delayed Israel’s entry into Rafah.

“And I remind you—[all this has happened] during the very months, the last few months, in which we were preparing and finally carrying out the military operation that is perhaps the most brilliant in our history, among the most brilliant certainly, which the whole world is in awe of.”

“Meanwhile, we continue to advance in the Gaza Strip and rescue the hostages who have died. Ee did not let up for a moment, and even now we are not letting up on this for a moment.”

He emphasised that Israel will return to war after a ceasefire if Hamas doesn’t give in, as happened after the two previous ceasefires.

If Israel’s goals are achieved diplomatically, that’s good, says Netanyahu. “But one way or another, they will be achieved.”

‘Hamas will pick which captives go free in deal’

Regarding which hostages will be released in case of truce , Netanyahu said he would prefer to get everyone out at once, but Hamas will decide which captives go free. “We are dealing with a cruel terrorist organisation. Of course, we would like to rescue everyone. I want to rescue everyone in one swoop.”