Alisa Odenheimer | Bloomberg News (TNS)
Israel will consider joining cease-fire talks with Hamas only when the group responds to the latest internationally mediated proposal for a temporary truce and hostage release, state-run Kan News reported.
Citing an unidentified political official, Kan said the Israeli government is expecting an answer from the Iran-backed group on Wednesday evening. Under the latest terms for a pause in hostilities, Israeli forces have agreed to withdraw from parts of Gaza, according to Kan.
Israel has been waging a military campaign against Hamas in response to the Oct. 7 invasion by terrorists on southern communities, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and some 250 were taken hostage. Israeli forces have laid waste to much of Gaza during the near seven-month conflict, with the ultimate aim of destroying Hamas and preventing a repeat attack.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s air and ground assault on the strip, according to health officials in the Hamas-led territory, while many more are struggling for food and healthcare. Hamas released about 105 hostages during a November cease-fire, and it’s not known how many of the rest are still alive.
Israel has said it needs to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah to complete the job of eliminating Hamas fighters, a prospect that’s raised concern internationally due to the more than 1 million Palestinians taking refuge there. The plan remains in place regardless of whether a truce deal is agreed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” he told a forum representing hostage families. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory.”
Under the latest cease-fire proposal, displaced Palestinians who need to return to their homes in northern Gaza after being forced to take refuge in the south won’t be inspected by Israeli forces, Kan said. Only Egypt and other countries will carry out that task.
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Israel will still be allowed to “track” Palestinians returning to northern Gaza using “other tools,” Kan said, without giving more details.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged leaders of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group the U.S. and European Union, to quickly reach a decision on Israeli conditions for a temporary cease-fire.
Israel has been “extraordinarily generous” with proposals made during talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt, Blinken said in Riyadh. He wasn’t more specific about the offer on the table.
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