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Palestinians inspect the harm astatine a U.N. schoolhouse utilized arsenic a structure by displaced residents that was deed by Israeli subject strikes, sidesplitting much than 15 people, successful Jabaliya, bluish Gaza Strip, connected Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
TEL AVIV – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says determination is “no way” Israel volition halt its war successful Gaza, adjacent if a woody is reached to merchandise much hostages.
His comments are apt to complicate talks connected a caller ceasefire that had seemed to summation momentum aft Hamas released the last surviving American hostage connected Monday successful a motion to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region but skipping Israel.
They pointed to a perchance widening rift betwixt Netanyahu and Trump, who had expressed anticipation that Monday’s merchandise of Israeli-American worker Edan Alexander would beryllium a measurement toward ending the 19-month war.
In comments released by his bureau Tuesday from a sojourn to wounded soldiers the erstwhile day, Netanyahu said Israeli forces were conscionable days distant from a promised escalation of unit and would participate Gaza “with large spot to implicit the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.”
Any ceasefire woody reached would beryllium temporary, the premier curate said. If Hamas were to accidental they would merchandise much hostages, “we’ll instrumentality them, and past we’ll spell in. But determination volition beryllium nary mode we volition halt the war,” Netanyahu said. “We tin marque a ceasefire for a definite play of time, but we’re going to the end.”
Hamas has said it volition lone merchandise the remaining hostages successful instrumentality for much Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The quality implicit whether to extremity the struggle has been the main obstacle successful negotiations going backmost much than a year.
Israel says 58 hostages stay successful captivity, with arsenic galore arsenic 23 of them said to beryllium alive, though authorities person expressed interest astir the information of 3 of them. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants successful the Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught that started the warfare were freed successful ceasefire deals.
Comments travel aft hostage release
Monday's merchandise of 21-year-old Alexander resulted from negotiations betwixt Hamas and the Trump medication that appeared to person mostly bypassed Israel, which made nary concessions for his release.
Alexander, who was 19 years aged erstwhile helium was taken from an Israeli service basal during the 2023 attack, was the archetypal hostage released since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas successful March and unleashed fierce strikes connected Gaza that person killed hundreds of Palestinians.
“This was a measurement taken successful bully religion towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to enactment an extremity to this precise brutal warfare and instrumentality ALL surviving hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump said connected his societal media level Truth Social connected Sunday evening. “Hopefully this is the archetypal of those last steps indispensable to extremity this brutal conflict. I look precise overmuch guardant to that time of celebration!”
Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing Gaza and displacing overmuch of the territory’s colonisation again. Days earlier the ceasefire ended successful March, Israel blocked each imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian situation and sparking warnings astir the hazard of famine if the blockade isn’t lifted. Israel says the steps are meant to unit Hamas to judge a ceasefire statement connected Israel’s terms.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 57 children had died from the effects of malnutrition since the blockade began connected March 2.
Netanyahu faces criticism
Alexander’s merchandise created a backlash against Netanyahu, who critics impeach of putting the lives of the hostages successful information by continuing the war. Netanyahu says helium is committed to returning each the hostages, destroying Hamas and resettling overmuch of Gaza’s colonisation done what helium refers to arsenic “voluntary emigration.”
During a astir two-hour gathering successful Tel Aviv with the families of hostages connected Tuesday, the United States' peculiar envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s envoy for hostage affairs, said they would bash what was needed to bring the remaining hostages home.
Witkoff said everyone would similar a diplomatic solution and that astir hostages had been released done diplomacy. The officials were heading to Doha, Qatar, aft their gathering to articulation President Donald Trump who’s visiting the region. Qatar has been a cardinal mediator betwixt Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff said they wouldn’t beryllium traveling to Qatar if they didn’t deliberation determination was a genuine accidental for advancement successful negotiations.
Israel seeking to determination Palestinians retired of Gaza
Netanyahu has voiced enactment for a plan projected by Trump for Palestinians to beryllium moved retired of the Gaza Strip aft the warfare - a connection that has infuriated Palestinians and Arab nations.
“We person enactment unneurotic an medication that volition let them to leave, but the occupation with america is 1 happening — we request receptive countries,” Netanyahu said during his sojourn to the wounded soldiers Monday. “That’s what we’re moving connected close now. If you springiness them the go-ahead, I archer you that much than 50% volition leave, and I deliberation overmuch more.”
Israel and the US have been seeking countries consenting to instrumentality Palestinians who would perchance determination retired of the territory.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 radical successful the 2023 attack. Israel’s retaliatory violative has killed implicit 52,800 Palestinians, galore of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not accidental however galore of the dormant were combatants oregon civilians.
Israel’s violative has obliterated immense swaths of Gaza’s municipality scenery and displaced 90% of the population, often aggregate times.
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Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece. Ibrahim Hazboun successful Jerusalem contributed
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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