Israel-Hamas: Netanyahu claims control of Gaza security after war

The war between Israel and Hamas will enter its second month this Tuesday. Despite numerous calls from the international community for a humanitarian truce, “there will not be a general ceasefire in Gaza without the release of our hostages,” the Israeli prime minister insisted in a television interview with ABC News on Monday evening. According to the Israeli army, about 240 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments come as UN chief Antonio Guterres called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” that is “growing more urgent by the hour” in the small Palestinian territory that has been turned into a “cemetery for children.”

During this interview, the Israeli Prime Minister was also asked about who will govern the Gaza Strip after the war. “Those who do not want to continue the path of Hamas,” he replied. Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that Israel will assume overall responsibility for the security of Gaza “for an indefinite period” after the end of the war with Hamas. Because “when we do not bear this responsibility in terms of security, we are witnessing the invasion of Hamas terror,” he justified.

Earlier, Osama Hamdan, a senior representative of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Lebanon, confirmed that Hamas will remain in the Gaza Strip and will not accept the “Vichy government” in the territory, which it has controlled since 2007, referring to the French collaborationist regime. under Nazi occupation during World War II.

Possible “tactical breaks”

Despite the rejection of the ceasefire, Benjamin Netanyahu recalled that “there have already been” “small tactical pauses, an hour here, an hour there.” The Israeli prime minister was referring to the White House’s statement that US President Joe Biden had discussed with him “the possibility of tactical pauses” “to allow civilians to safely leave combat zones, “to ensure that aid reaches civilians in need and enable the potential release of hostages.”

“I believe we will study the circumstances to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies or the exit of our hostages. But I don’t think there will be a general ceasefire,” Benjamin Netanyahu repeated. “This will hinder our efforts to free the hostages, because the only thing that works for these criminals and for Hamas is the military pressure that we apply,” he said.

Asked about his responsibility for the deadly October 7 attack, Israel’s prime minister once again acknowledged his role. “There is no doubt about it and this issue must be resolved after the war,” he said, adding that his government had “clearly” failed to live up to its obligations to protect its people.

More than 1,400 people have died in Israel since Oct. 7, authorities said, mostly civilians killed in the day of the Hamas attack, the deadliest in Israeli history. Hamas also took more than 240 hostages in Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory bombing in the Gaza Strip killed 10,022 people, mostly civilians, including more than 4,000 children, according to a Hamas health ministry report on Monday.