Israel Open to Extending Cease-Fire, But Leaders Say They Are Ready to Resume War
Israel is open to a new round of negotiations for the release of Israeli men and soldiers held in Gaza once all the civilian women and children hostages are freed, a senior official said, indicating that the current truce could extend beyond this week, even as the Israeli government says it is prepared to resume its war with Hamas if necessary.
Israeli leaders have come out strongly against a permanent cease-fire, in a demonstration of how the government is caught between Israelis’ conflicting desires to eradicate Hamas and bring home some 200 people captured on Oct. 7.
In a slew of public comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with members of his cabinet and coalition partners, laid down a firm marker that talks brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar were only about releasing hostages taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. Once that process is over, Israeli leaders said, they would go back to war with the goals of removing Hamas from power and ending a security threat from Gaza.
“There is no situation in which we do not go back to fighting until the end. This is my policy. The entire security cabinet is behind it. The entire government is behind it. The soldiers are behind it. The people are behind it—this is exactly what we will do,” said Netanyahu on Wednesday.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israeli-leaders-resist-calls-for-longer-cease-fire-with-hamas/ar-AA1kINLh
