OAN Staff James Meyers
3:25 PM – Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly announced in a closed door meeting that fighting in Gaza would continue despite a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, according to the Jewish News Syndicate.
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“If there is a deal—and I hope there will be—Israel will return to fighting afterward. There’s no reason to obscure or conceal this because resuming fighting is intended to complete the war’s objectives. This doesn’t obstruct a deal; it encourages one,” the news outlet quoted the PM.
Some negotiators have expressed concerns over Netanyahu’s stance, as Hamas demands international guarantees for the later stages of an agreement. The Islamist terrorist group has also reiterated that they desire a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Jerusalem’s three war goals are to eradicate Hamas as a military and political body, bring all of the October 7th hostages home, and prevent Gaza Islamist groups from becoming a security threat to Israel yet again in the near future.
Meanwhile, negotiations for the release of 34 hostages remain stalled due to the terrorist group’s refusal to release 12 specific hostages, instead threatening to only return “their bodies.” Hamas has also agreed to release 22 live hostages, but they want to substitute the living 12 with deceased bodies. According to multiple sources, Netanyahu rejected that proposal.
The agreement also included Israel providing Hamas with a list of 34 hostages to be transferred in the first stage. Furthermore, one hundred hostages are remaining in Gaza, including 64 that Israel believes to be alive.
On December 20th, Netanyahu said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, “I’m not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas. We’re not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It’s not going to happen.”
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