Six months into Israel’s war with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that Israel was close to victory as it withdrew its troops from southern Gaza while retaining “significant forces” elsewhere in Gaza. .

“We are one step away from victory. But the price we pay is painful and heartbreaking,” he told the cabinet.

Even as stalled ceasefire talks resume in Cairo, Netanyahu promised, “There will be no ceasefire if the hostages are not returned. It simply won’t happen.”

Hamas is still believed to be holding about 100 hostages in Gaza tunnels, including about 250 people who launched a shocking attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people. As of mid-February, 112 hostages had been released, most during a week-long ceasefire in November, and 36 hostages are believed to have died or been killed during six months of fighting in Gaza.

The Hamas health ministry in Gaza said Israel’s counteroffensive has killed more than 33,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children. The Israeli military said it killed thousands of militants in total.

Netanyahu said Israel would not give in to “extreme” demands from Gaza’s Islamist ruler Hamas to withdraw from its Mediterranean coast despite growing international pressure, including from its main ally the United States. Withdraw all troops from the narrow territory.

Last week, Israel agreed to open a new humanitarian aid road in Erez, on Gaza’s northern border with Israel, at the request of U.S. President Joe Biden, but operations in the area have yet to begin. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving, with many taking shelter in makeshift tents near Rafah, on the Egyptian border in southern Gaza.

Netanyahu has vowed to launch a ground offensive against Rafah to destroy four Hamas battalions while protecting the more than 1 million Palestinian civilians who have taken refuge there. But Israel has yet to publicly declare where it will move the Palestinians to keep them out of harm’s way.

The United States and other Western backers of Israel have expressed opposition to any ground attack on Rafah, fearing civilians would be caught in the crossfire between Israel and militants.

Israel withdrew its troops from southern Gaza on Sunday, including from the city of Khan Younis, the IDF and Israeli media said, after months of fierce fighting with Hamas militants that razed much of the area’s infrastructure.

The military said in a statement: “The 98th Commando Division has concluded its mission in Khan Younis. The division left the Gaza Strip to recuperate and prepare for future operations.”

“A significant force, led by the 162nd Division and the Nahal Brigade, continues to operate in the Gaza Strip and will safeguard the IDF’s freedom of movement and its ability to conduct intelligence-based precision operations,” the statement said.

israeli newspapers haaretz Calling the withdrawal tactical.

An army official told the Left Daily: “If we don’t get approval, there is no need for us to stay in the area. [operational] need. “

Negotiators began arriving in Cairo on Saturday to renegotiate a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

CIA Director William Burns arrived Saturday. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and an Israeli delegation are also expected to take part in the talks, Egypt’s Al Qahera news reported.

Hamas said in a statement that it was sending its deputy chief Khalil Haya, who is based in Gaza. It also reiterated its core demands: a complete ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Biden wrote to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the status of hostage negotiations, “he urged them to ensure Hamas agrees and abides by the agreement.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden also told Netanyahu to authorize his negotiators in Cairo to quickly agree on a ceasefire while allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Information for this report was provided in part by Reuters, The Associated Press and AFP.