Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied growing calls to get a ceasefire agreement finalized following Hamas’s killings of several hostages over the weekend.
Netanyahu said he believes it’s a necessity that the Israeli-controlled Philadelphi corridor, a strip of land along the Gazan border with Egypt, remains under Israeli control as a part of a ceasefire deal. Israel has long claimed Hamas smuggles weapons into Gaza through tunnels underneath the border.
He called the corridor “the oxygen of Hamas,” given its importance in ensuring Hamas can’t smuggle weapons and other supplies underground.
The Israeli prime minister said he recognized the importance of freeing the remaining hostages but refused to budge: “No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me. But no one will preach to me.”
Six Israeli hostages were recently found dead in Gaza, sparking fury among some of the Israeli populace and prompting large protests throughout the country. The White House has also continued to push Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas.
Among the dead hostages included Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli American who was spotlighted at the Democratic National Convention when his parents spoke about his capture and called for his release. His mother and father, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jonathan Polin, delivered his eulogy in Jerusalem.
“Amidst the inexplicable agony, terror, anguish, desperation, and fear, we became absolutely certain that you were coming home to us alive. But it was not to be,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said in her eulogy. “If there was something we could’ve done to save you and we didn’t think of it, I beg your forgiveness. We tried so very hard, deeply, and desperately. I’m sorry.”
President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” at Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s death in a statement on X. On Monday, he responded “no,” to a question on whether Netanyahu had done enough to secure an agreement with Hamas. Some of the hostages killed over the weekend, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were expected to be released in a deal.
Despite Biden’s remark, U.S. officials said last month that Israel agreed to the bridging proposal and the onus was on Hamas to do the same.
The ceasefire talks have continued, and Biden may offer a “take it or leave it” deal to Israel as soon as this week, according to NBC News.
While Netanyahu may resist the United States’s wishes for an immediate deal, Israeli citizens took particular issues with the deaths of the hostages. Thousands of the nation’s citizens took to the streets to protest and to demand a hostage deal with Hamas. The protests were mainly peaceful, but protesters broke through police lines at different points, and additional measures such as water cannons were needed.
Hamas’s response to the hostage killings blamed the advance of the Israel Defense Forces on its positions. In a message posted to Telegram, Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida said soldiers assigned to the prisoners were instructed to deal “with them” if the IDF got too close.
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Hamas had a harsh message for Netanyahu about what would happen if he can’t propose a hostage deal.
“Netanyahu’s insistence on liberating the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean that they will return to their families inside coffins, and their families will have to choose whether they are dead or alive,” the spokesman said.
