TEL AVIV, January 21. /TASS/. Israel rejects Hamas’ demands that the military operation in the Gaza Strip be ended in exchange for the release of all Israeli hostages held in the enclave, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"In exchange for the release of our kidnapped people, Hamas demands the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, release of all Nukhba (Hamas elite commando wing - TASS) murderers and rapists and immunity for Hamas. If we agree on this, the death of our soldiers will be in vain. If we agree on this, we will not be able to guarantee security for our citizens. We cannot safely return those kidnapped as the next October 7 will be just a matter of time. I cannot accept such a deadly blow on Israel’s security, so, we will not accept this," he said.
According to the Israeli prime minister, only complete victory in the Gaza Strip will ensure Hamas’ extermination and the return of Israeli hostages. He recalled that Israel has returned 110 out of more than 240 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. "We want all of them to be released, this is one of the goals of the war and military pressure [on Hamas] is a necessary conditions for its completion," he stressed.
According to Netanyahu, he told this to US President Joe Biden during their phone call on January 19. "I value very much the United States support for Israel and I told this to the president but I firmly defend our vital interests," he said.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.