Netanyahu says there is ‘no way’ Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated

TEL AVIV Israel AP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is no way Israel will halt its war in Gaza even if a deal is reached to release more hostages His comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas circulated the last living American hostage on Monday in a gesture to U S President Donald Trump who is visiting the region but skipping Israel They pointed to a potentially widening rift between Netanyahu and Trump who had expressed hope that Monday s release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander would be a step toward ending the -month war In comments distributed by his office Tuesday from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day Netanyahu mentioned Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza with great strength to complete the mission It means destroying Hamas Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary the prime minister announced If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages we ll take them and then we ll go in But there will be no way we will stop the war Netanyahu disclosed We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time but we re going to the end Hamas has declared it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza The dispute over whether to end the conflict has been the main obstacle in negotiations going back more than a year Israel says hostages remain in captivity with as numerous as of them stated to be alive although agents have expressed concern about the condition of three of them A large number of of the hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the Oct attack that started the war were freed in ceasefire deals Comments come after hostage release Monday s release of -year-old Alexander resulted from negotiations between Hamas and the Trump administration that appeared to have largely bypassed Israel which made no concessions for his release Alexander who was years old when he was taken from an Israeli army base during the attack was the first hostage issued since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators Qatar and Egypt to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday evening Hopefully this is the first of those final initiatives necessary to end this brutal conflict I look very much forward to that day of celebration Israel has promised to intensify its offensive including by seizing Gaza and displacing much of the territory s population again Days before the ceasefire ended in March Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave deepening a humanitarian predicament and sparking warnings about the danger of famine if the blockade isn t lifted Israel says the attempts are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel s terms The World Strength Organization reported Tuesday that according to Gaza s Physical condition Ministry children had died from the effects of malnutrition since the blockade began on March Netanyahu faces criticism Alexander s release created a backlash against Netanyahu who critics accuse of putting the lives of the hostages in danger by continuing the war Netanyahu says he is committed to returning all the hostages destroying Hamas and resettling much of Gaza s population through what he refers to as voluntary emigration During a nearly two-hour meeting in Tel Aviv with the families of hostages on Tuesday the United States special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler the Trump administration s envoy for hostage affairs explained they would do what was needed to bring the remaining hostages home Witkoff announced everyone would prefer a diplomatic remedy and that preponderance hostages had been issued through diplomacy The representatives were heading to Doha Qatar after their meeting to join President Donald Trump who s visiting the region Qatar has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas Witkoff reported they wouldn t be traveling to Qatar if they didn t think there was a genuine chance for progress in negotiations Israel seeking to move Palestinians out of Gaza Netanyahu has voiced help for a plan proposed by Trump for Palestinians to be moved out of the Gaza Strip after the war a proposal that has infuriated Palestinians and Arab nations We have put together an administration that will allow them to leave but the concern with us is one thing we need receptive countries Netanyahu revealed during his visit to the wounded soldiers Monday That s what we re working on right now If you give them the go-ahead I tell you that more than will leave and I think much more Israel and the US have been seeking countries willing to take Palestinians who would potentially move out of the territory Hamas-led militants killed people in the attack Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed over Palestinians various of them women and children according to Gaza s Medical Ministry which does not say how several of the dead were combatants or civilians Israel s offensive has obliterated vast swaths of Gaza s urban landscape and displaced of the population often multiple times