‘Efforts to free hostages continue’: Netanyahu on Gaza truce

The war between Israel and Hamas has continued since October 7 (file photo)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was not prepared to accept a deal to release hostages held by Hamas at any cost, as the Israeli coalition split over a U.S. push for more aid to Gaza.

The comments came in the latest episode in a bitter coalition dispute between a religious-nationalist party opposed to any concessions to the Palestinians and centrist groups including a former army general.

“Efforts to free the hostages continue,” Netanyahu said in comments ahead of a cabinet meeting announced to the media. “As I emphasized in the security cabinet, we will not agree to every deal, nor will we At any cost.”

He also appeared to condemn far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who wants Jewish settlers to return to Gaza, and criticized Israel’s staunchest ally, U.S. President Joe Biden, for urging the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave. . .

“Instead of fully supporting us, Biden is busy delivering humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza]this belongs to Hamas,” Ben-Gweil told the Wall Street Journal in an interview in which he publicly backed Donald Trump, Biden’s likely rival in the November U.S. presidential election.

“If Trump were in power, America would behave completely differently,” he said.

Netanyahu, whose relationship with Biden has been tense at times, did not directly name Bengvir, but he rejected the comments, which came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the region.

“I don’t need any help managing our relationship with the United States and the international community while firmly safeguarding our national interests,” he told a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

In response to Ben-Gver’s interview, former opposition politician Benny Gantz, who joined the emergency unity government last year, thanked Biden on Twitter, saying: “The people of Israel will always remember how you defended Israeli rights. at one of our most difficult moments.”

The spat underscored the tense political climate in Israel, four months after Hamas militants launched devastating attacks that killed about 1,200 people and dragged about 240 hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli statistics.

Israel responded by razing large swaths of Gaza in a ruthless campaign that, according to Palestinian health authorities, has killed more than 27,000 people and forced most of the 2.3 million people to flee their homes.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States will continue its efforts to provide more aid to Gaza, which is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.

“That means putting pressure on Israel on issues related to the humanitarian assistance that we help unlock and get into the Gaza Strip, and more assistance is needed,” he told CBS Television’s “Face the Nation.”

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