Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has stated that he is amenable to a “partial” agreement that would enable the return of some, but not all, of the prisoners who are currently being held in Gaza.
He did, however, restate his refusal to budge on any agreement that called for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, despite earlier assertions by the US that an Israeli plan would pave the way for the offensive’s termination.
“The goal is to return the kidnapped and uproot the Hamas regime in Gaza,” he said in an interview with Israeli media outlet Channel 14 on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have repeatedly demonstrated against Netanyahu’s administration, calling for early elections and a compromise that will free the prisoners.
Before Israel launched its air and military offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, against appeals from the international community to hold off, more than a million Palestinians were seeking sanctuary in the city. Since then, some 800,000 people have been forced to leave Rafah, where the UN food agency has called the situation “apocalyptic.”
A ceasefire proposal that would see a six-week break in hostilities and the release of some Israeli prisoners in Gaza and Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails was made public by US President Joe Biden last month. The negotiations for an ongoing ceasefire would subsequently be made possible by these exchanges.
Although US officials have maintained that Israel is the author of the idea, several Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have stated that they will not stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed and have declined to openly support the plan in its entirety.
Additionally, Netanyahu said Channel 14 that the Israeli military’s “intense” attack in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, was almost finished.
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