Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today (Wednesday) that a complete victory in Gaza is within reach, rejecting Hamas’s latest ceasefire offer to ensure the return of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters news agency.
Netanyahu reiterated his vow to destroy Hamas, stating that Israel has no alternative but to cause the collapse of Hamas. He said in a press conference, “The day after is the day after (the elimination of) Hamas… all of Hamas.”
Netanyahu stated that the Israeli military has been ordered to prepare for operations in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, as reported by the Israeli newspaper “Jerusalem Post” in a press conference.
Netanyahu added that Israel is close to achieving a complete victory in Gaza, and that achieving full victory would only require “a matter of months.”
Regarding the tension with Lebanese Hezbollah, Netanyahu said a solution must be found on Israel’s northern border, where an exchange of fire with Hezbollah forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes. He added that Israel cannot tolerate having about 100,000 displaced people within its borders, and its enemies know that a solution must be found, whether diplomatic or military.
On the other hand, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, denied today (Wednesday) news of scheduled talks tomorrow in Cairo regarding a ceasefire following his movement’s response to the “Paris meeting” proposal. Hamad told the “Arab World News Agency” from Doha, “There is no truth to what the media circulated about there being talks tomorrow, Thursday, in Cairo.” Cairo News TV earlier today mentioned that Egypt and Qatar would sponsor a new round of negotiations tomorrow in Cairo to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and release Palestinian and Israeli detainees. The TV channel stated that Egypt is calling on all parties to show the necessary flexibility to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It quoted an unnamed Egyptian source saying that the country “is doing its utmost to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip, release detainees, and end the humanitarian crisis in the sector.” Hamas delivered its response yesterday to the “Paris meeting” proposal, which was attended by the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Israel on January 28. An Israeli official said today that Hamas’s response makes the chances of completing this deal very difficult. The “Israeli Broadcasting Corporation” quoted the official, described as senior, saying, “It has become difficult to make a deal under such circumstances.
