Israel will continue to press for a truce deal that will free as many living hostages as possible while retaining security control over key areas of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed during a meeting with families of captives and fallen soldiers in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Jerusalem is “making an effort to return the hostages under conditions that will allow a maximum number of captives to be released in the first stage of the deal,” he told members of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages and HaGvura—The Forum for Families of Fallen Heroes.
“I say this clearly—this is a goal I set,” Netanyahu said, adding: “But the other thing is to preserve our strategic security assets in the face of great pressures at home and from abroad, and we continue to stand on this.”
The premier said that the Israel Defense Forces continues to score gains against Hamas in Gaza, highlighting the capture of the Rafah Crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, as well as the killing of top Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.
“The main thing: to eliminate Hamas and achieve victory. We are approaching it step by step,” he told the families who gathered at his office. “We [are working] with all our strength to dismantle the Hamas regime and eliminate their military capabilities, and it is progressing.”
ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו נפגש היום עם נציגי פורום ״הגבורה״ ונציגי פורום ״תקווה״.
ראש הממשלה הודה לנציגים על כך שביקשו לחזק אותו מול הלחצים השונים. ראש הממשלה הבטיח לנציגים שיקיריהם לא נפלו לשווא, ושישראל תמשיך בלחימה עד השגת הניצחון המוחלט על חמאס.https://t.co/0W87m5T48x pic.twitter.com/TOIYCNAKKH
— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) August 20, 2024
Israel’s Ynet news outlet cited hostage families as saying that Netanyahu told them he informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their meeting in Jerusalem on Monday that Jerusalem would “under no circumstances” leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the northern and southern Gaza Strip.
One hundred and nine hostages, both living and dead, remain captive in the Gaza Strip, 319 days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 invasion. Dozens are believed to be alive, an official involved in the talks revealed in June.
As indirect talks for a hostages-for-ceasefire deal are ongoing in Doha, Hamas has stressed that it will only consent to an agreement that includes an end to the war and a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the enclave.
U.S. President Joe Biden accused the terrorist organization on Monday night of “backing away,” noting that “Israel says they can work it out.”
“It remains to be seen. We’re going to keep pushing,” Biden said as he boarded a plane after addressing the Democratic National Convention.
Hamas later issued a statement saying that Biden made “misleading claims” and demonstrated the U.S. administration’s “bias towards the Zionist occupation and the full partnership in the aggression and war of genocide against defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
“We call on the U.S. administration to reverse its policy of blind bias towards the Zionist war criminals, lift the political and military cover for the war of genocide waged by the fascist occupation army … and work seriously to stop it,” added the statement from the terrorist group.
Speaking with Israeli reporters in Tel Aviv on Monday evening, Blinken again urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal from mediators.
“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same,” he said.
“What I would say to Hamas and to its leadership is: If it genuinely cares about the Palestinian people that it purports to somehow represent, then it will say yes to this agreement, and it will work on clear understandings on how to implement it,” the diplomat stated.