Netanyahu’s comments likely complicated negotiations on a new ceasefire, which released the last alive American hostage on Monday to free the last alive American hostage to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting the area but skipping Israel.
They pointed to a potentially widening rift between Netanyahu and Trump, who said they hoped to release Israel-U.S. soldier Edan Alexander would be a step towards ending the 19-month war.
The Israeli military attacked what it called Hamas’ “Command and Control Center” under a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the strike at European hospitals was the second strike of the day, with at least six people dead and 40 injured.
The deceased were taken to Nasser Hospital, which attacked Israel earlier that day, saying militants were operating in it and did not identify them. Two people were killed during that strike.
The Prime Minister said in a comment on the visit of injured soldiers on Tuesday that Israeli forces are just days away from the promised escalation of force and will “have a lot of power into Gaza to complete the mission. … This means destroying Hamas.” The Prime Minister said any ceasefire agreement reached is temporary. If Hamas says they will release more hostages, “We will take them and we will go in. But we will not be able to stop the war,” Netanyahu said. “We can cease fire for a while, but we will end.” Hamas said it will only release the rest of the hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Disputes over whether to end the conflict have been a major obstacle to negotiations for more than a year.
Israel said 58 hostages remained in captivity, with as many as 23 saying they were alive, although authorities expressed concern about three of them. On October 7, 2023, of the 250 hostages that began the war, 250 were released in the ceasefire deal.
Negotiations between Hamas and the Trump administration appear to largely bypass Israel after the hostage release comments released by 21-year-old Alexander on Monday, which did not concessions to his release.
Alexander took 19 years of Israeli Army Base (Israel Army Base) in the 2023 attack, the first hostages since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in March and released a fierce strike against Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians.
Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including capturing Gaza and displaced much of the region’s population again. The ceasefire came days after Israel blocked all imports into the Palestinian enclave, deepening the humanitarian crisis and raising warnings about the risk of famine. Israel said the steps were intended to force Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israeli terms.
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that 57 children have died from malnutrition since the lockdown began on March 2, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, a representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said that if the situation persists, it is expected to suffer acute malnutrition in nearly five children under the age of five over the next 11 months.
“This is one of the worst hunger crises in the world, and it unfolds in real time,” Peppercohen said.
Netanyahu faces criticism
Alexander’s release has strong opposition to Netanyahu, who critics accused the lives of hostages at risk by continuing the war. Netanyahu said he was committed to returning all hostages, destroying Hamas, and relocating most of Gaza’s population through what he called “voluntary immigration.”
During a nearly two-hour meeting with hostage families in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump administration hostage envoy Adam Boehler said they would do what they needed to bring the rest of the hostages home.
Everyone wants a diplomatic solution, and most hostages are released through diplomacy, Vikov said. Officials went to Doha, Qatar after a meeting. Qatar has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Vikov said they would not go to Qatar if they thought there was no real opportunity for negotiations to progress.
Alexander’s parents said he said “unthinkable difficulty” in the captivity. Alexander’s parents said in a statement Tuesday that their son described the lasting harsh captivity, which included hunger, water shortage and “shocking sanitation.”
His mother, Yael, said he was worried about his life every day, “but the most terrifying voice that Edan was worried about was the sound of war above their heads.
Alexander’s parents called on Netanyahu to listen to “the vast majority of the Israeli public” and prioritize the return of the remaining hostages. They thank Trump and his envoy for “representing Edan’s unremitting efforts.”
Israel seeks to move Palestinians out of Gaza, the Gaza Netanyahu, expressed support for Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip after the war – a proposal that angered Palestinians and Arab countries.
“We formed a government that gets them out, but our problem is one thing – we need to accept the country,” Netanyahu said on Monday during a visit to the injured soldiers. “That’s what we’re working on right now. If you give them permission, I’ll tell you that more than 50% of people will leave, I want more.”
Israel and the United States have been looking for Palestinians who are willing to take away Palestinians who may move out of their territory.
In the 2023 attack, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed more than 52,800 Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, and that did not say how many were combatants or civilians.
Israel’s offensive destroyed extensive fragments of Gaza’s urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, usually multiple times.
