Photo: Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would consider a ‘strategic pause’ in the fighting in Gaza to allow aid to enter and hostages to leave. But despite growing international pressure, he rejected calls for a ceasefire.
In an interview with US television channel ABC News on Monday, Netanyahu said he believed Israel would need security responsibility for the Palestinian enclave “indefinitely” after the war.
Asked about the possibility of a humanitarian pause in the fighting, Netanyahu said a general ceasefire would disrupt his country’s war effort.
Israel’s main ally, the United States, has backed the idea of a humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza, Reuters reported.
“We’ve done tactical little pauses before for an hour, two hours as far as possible,” Netanyahu told ABC News. I guess we will check the situation so that goods, humanitarian goods can come in or our hostages, special hostages can leave. But I don’t think there is going to be a general ceasefire.”
Both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian independence group that controls Gaza, have rejected strong international pressure for a cease-fire. Israel demands that all hostages held by Hamas must be released first. And Hamas says they will not be released and the fighting will not stop unless the attacks on Gaza stop.
On October 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel. Israel said 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attack and 240 were taken hostage by the attackers in Gaza. Since that day, Israel has blockaded the Gaza Strip and launched massive air and missile attacks on the Palestinian enclave. Later they also launched a ground attack on Gaza.
According to the Ministry of Health of Gaza, 10022 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, including 4104 children.
International organizations say that so many people are being injured that hospitals are unable to cope with their treatment. Among them, there is a severe shortage of electricity, fuel, food and clean water in Gaza. The relief that is being delivered to the territory is grossly inadequate compared to the requirement.
In this situation, global concern has spread about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Many are warning of a catastrophic situation.
“We urgently need a humanitarian ceasefire,” several UN agencies said in a joint statement on Monday. It’s been 30 days. A lot has happened. This must be stopped now.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UN relief chief Martin Griffiths signed the statement.
Read more:
