Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern message to Hamas on Sunday amid ongoing negotiations for the release of the hostages.
“While Israel showed this willingness [to compromise], Hamas remained entrenched in its extreme positions, chief among them the demand to withdraw all our forces from the Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas intact,” Netanyahu said following the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
“The State of Israel cannot accept this. We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding communities, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country,” he continued.
On Sunday Israel’s War Cabinet approved the launch of a military operation in Rafah, which began with the evacuation of Gazans from the eastern part of the city near the border with Israel earlier on today. Two incidents preceded the decision – Hamas’ insistence on ending the war and the deadly rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing in which four soldiers were killed.
There should never be recognition or reward for terrorism. Hamas will never lay down its arms nor ease up its extreme demands in the negotiations. It’s mandatory that the Israel Defense Forces enter Rafah and finish the job. The last stronghold of this terrorist scourge must be dismantled.
Sources:
Netanyahu to Hamas: We will not stop the fight, by Troy Osher Fritzhand/JNS, May 5, 2024