Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment not to yield to global pressures for a ceasefire, including from its trusted ally US, as the IDF is nearing its goal shortly of capturing Gaza and assuming responsibility for its administration.
The IDF encircled Gaza and split the territory into two, cutting off the north from the south in a strategic military maneuver.
Netanyahu said that Israel will have to oversee “security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” to make sure Hamas cannot carry out large-scale terrorism acts again.
“There would be no ceasefire in Gaza without the release of our hostages,” he told ABC News’ ‘World News Tonight’.
On a humanitarian pause if hostages are released, Netanyahu said, “There’ll be a ceasefire for that purpose. We’re waiting for that to happen. It hasn’t happened so far.”
On future governance of Gaza if and when the war is over, Netanyahu said, “Those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas?”
Hamas militants currently hold about 240 hostages after their attack on October 7.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took control of a Hamas military stronghold in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said in a daily Telegram update covering the events of the previous day.
Anti-tank missiles and launchers, weapons and intelligence materials were located on the site of the compound, the IDF said.
Meanwhile, more than 100 foreign nationals left Gaza and entered Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, according to an Egyptian border official cited by CNN.
The total number of foreign passport holders who have left war-torn Gaza so far is 114, the official said, with an additional four wounded Palestinians allowed into Egypt for medical treatment.
At least 30 more injured Palestinians are set to enter the country on Tuesday, the official added.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has said that it will set up a field hospital with a 150-bed capacity in the Gaza Strip to deliver essential medical treatment to Palestinian people, the country’s state-run news agency said late on Monday.
Five aircraft carrying supplies and equipment for the medical facility have departed from Abu Dhabi and will unload their cargo at the al-Arish airport in Egypt, for where it will be transported to the Gaza Strip — likely by truck, through the Rafah crossing.
The UAE previously announced $20 million of urgent aid to the Palestinian people and an initiative to bring approximately 1,000 Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip, alongside their families, for medical treatment in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi has historically supported the cause of the Palestinian people, but notably normalised relations with Israel in 2020 through the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
(IANS)
