Netanyahu Warns Israel before Gaza ceasefire Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged his nation to prepare for resuming the war against Hamas should the negotiations to seal the deal on the second phase of the ceasefire turn fruitless.
In a televised address just hours before it was scheduled to come into force on Sunday, Netanyahu described the agreement as "temporary" and Israel still retains the right to renew its air attacks on Gaza - and now has support from US President-elect Donald Trump for that purpose.
Netanyahu also referenced the success of the last 15 months of military action in Israel, such as the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
"We have changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu said, adding Hamas was now "completely alone".
In the speech given Saturday, before his speech, Netanyahu said that Israel would not act on the agreement unless Hamas presented the list of the hostages they would free.
"Israel will not adhere to any agreement violation," he said.
A longer list of the 33 hostages to be freed by Hamas had already been published by Israeli media but never confirmed by officials.
However, the Israeli authorities stated that they did not receive the names of the three hostages that would be released on Sunday.
Israel has been pounding Gaza with air strikes on what they claim are Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites. More than 120 people have been killed so far since the deal was announced on Wednesday, Hamas officials say.
Under the deal, 33 hostages are to be released over the next few weeks in exchange for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Israel will start withdrawing its forces from Gaza by the terms of the agreement.
It was unclear where the first hostages would be exchanged. A senior Israeli military official said three reception points had been prepared near the border, in northern, central, and southern Gaza.
Earlier, a Hamas official close to the Hamas said that in the first stage, the three first hostages who will be freed would be women. The discussions for the second stage of the truce regarding its terms would be held from the 16th day of the first stage of the truce, and these discussions would try for "a final end of the war.".
The second stage of the swap is still unknown. Still, the remaining hostages who are males would probably be released as more Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons are freed.
There would also be a complete Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza. It is also agreed that Hamas police - who will be unarmed unless absolutely necessary - would oversee the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza
The last third and final stage will consist of the rebuilding of Gaza - something which may take many years - and the return of any remaining hostages' bodies.
Israel's government approved the hostage release and ceasefire deal on Friday night after hours of discussions.
Two far-right cabinet ministers voted against it, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The drawn-out structure of the agreement is also causing anxiety and division among the families of the hostages. Some fear relatives will be abandoned in Gaza after the first phase is done.
Thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening called for the government to respect the first phase of the ceasefire so that more hostages are released.
Gal Alkalay, one of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, said: "We could have saved the lives of 200 soldiers and more than 10 hostages." According to her, people died for nothing because the government "couldn't take a decision and waited for Trump.".
Israeli police said that a few people had been stabbed at a restaurant near the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Saturday. The attacker was killed by a civilian who shot him dead at the scene, the police added.
The suspect came to Tel Aviv "illegally" from Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media said. Since the ceasefire deal was announced Wednesday night, there has been no respite for Palestinians on the ground in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since then 123 people have been killed; including dozens of women and children.
Gaza's Hamas-run civil defense rescue agency said on Saturday at least five members of one family were killed when a strike hit their tent in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, the news agency said.
The Israeli military said since Thursday afternoon, it had struck 100 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, who were part of several "terror targets" attacked across Gaza, according to Reuters news agency.
After an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 people died and 251 were taken hostage, the Israeli military launched a campaign aimed at destroying Hamas, proscribed as a terrorist group by Israel, the US, and others.
The territory's Hamas-run health ministry says that since then, nearly 46,899 people have died. It is estimated that a significant 2.3 million of the inhabitants have been displaced; the place is mostly destroyed, and the inhabitants face acute shortages of food, fuel, medicine, and shelter due to the inability of aid to reach most of them.
0 Comments