Israel has refused any ceasefire in its war against Hamas as their ground forces continue to fight the Palestinian Hamas group in the Gaza strip along with aerial bombardments in response to the October 7 terror attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday a ceasefire will not happen since that would amount to surrendering to Hamas. “Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism… this will not happen,” he told a foreign briefing, vowing Israel would “fight until this battle is won”. The US, an ally, too has objected to a ceasefire.
Netanyahu’s government is also facing a hostage situation with around 230 Israelis and foreign nationals being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, who remain an important political currency for the Hamas. Hostages had been a major reason for negotiations for Israel in the past.
Hamas yesterday released a video of three women who were taken hostage during their October 7 attack on Israel, the deadliest in Israel’s history. In another instance, a woman soldier was freed from Gaza Strip by the Israeli army during their ground operations.
A German woman who was paraded naked on a pickup truck by Hamas after being kidnapped from a music festival near the Gaza border was confirmed dead yesterday. In videos shared in the immediate aftermath of Hamas attacks, Shani Louk was seen lying face down in the pickup truck.
Israel’s intensified military operations in the Gaza strip has sharply heightened fears for the 2.4 million inhabitants with the UN warning that not enough aid was reaching there to meet “unprecedented humanitarian needs”. The Hamas-controlled health ministry said over 8,300 have been killed in Gaza.
Israel aims to destroy the military capabilities of Hamas after the Palestinian group launched a fierce rocket attack on October 7 and its operatives went on a rampage in Israeli border towns, killing and kidnapping civilians. Four of those taken hostage were earlier released by Hamas.