“I will not sign any agreement on the release of hostages without eliminating Hamas”

Saturday 21st December 2024 07:26 AM

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, He told the Wall Street Journal that he would not sign a hostage release agreement with the Palestinian Islamist movement without first eradicating the group from the Gaza Strip. “I will not agree to end the war before removing Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “We will not leave them in power in Gaza, about 50 kilometers from Tel Aviv. It won't happen,” he said. There are still around a hundred hostages in Gaza, kidnapped on 7 October 2023, and it is unclear how many are still alive.

A survey released by the Israeli broadcaster “Channel 13” indicates that only 22 percent of those interviewed expressed confidence in the government, while 75 percent said they had confidence in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands at 29 percent, while 47 percent express confidence in the IDF Chief of Staff, General Herzi Halevi.

Confidence in the abilities of Defense Minister Israel Katz is only 24 percent. The pollsters also asked respondents how they define victory in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip: 68 percent say it will be achieved only with the return of all hostages, 12 percent say they will see the annexation of Gaza and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the Strip, 4 percent say the return of border residents to their homes will be the definition of victory, 8 percent say they will see the establishment of a moderate Palestinian leadership in Gaza other than Hamas, and 8 percent say they do not know.