Amid talks to extend the ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday that his country will resume the military campaign to eradicate Hamas, reported Xinhua.
"There is no situation in which we do not go back to fighting until the end. This is my policy," Netanyahu said in a video statement Wednesday afternoon, adding that the entire security cabinet and government, the soldiers, and the Israeli people are all "behind it."
"From the start of the war, I set three goals: eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again go back to being a threat to the State of Israel. These three goals still stand," he stressed.
Netanyahu noted that in the past week "a very great achievement" was made, referring to the return of dozens of hostages, among approximately 240 kidnapped by Hamas militants in their deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
With the truce set to expire on Thursday, intensive discussions are underway to secure a second extension to the ceasefire that will see more hostages released, and more humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza.
Meanwhile, an informed Palestinian source said Wednesday that an extension of the current humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel is expected to be announced later in the day.
The source, who required anonymity, told Xinhua that Hamas has prepared a new list with the names of 20 Israeli hostages for the Qatari and Egyptian mediators with the purpose of extending the truce for at least two days.
According to the source, Hamas also informed the mediators of its willingness to extend the truce for more days so that it could release more hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
There were also Israeli media reports saying that an "initial" agreement was reached to extend the ceasefire after the current one expires on Thursday.
Israel has previously said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day.
- Israel
- Attacks
- Gaza
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
