Netanyahu has vowed that Gaza war will continue until Hamas is fully disarmed.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the war in Gaza will not end until Hamas is completely disarmed and the Palestinian territory is fully demilitarised.
Netanyahu made the statement on Saturday while addressing the ongoing US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which has seen the release and exchange of hostages and prisoners in recent days.
ALSO: Dangote Refinery Confirms Fresh 22 Sabotage Attempts
His comments came shortly after Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed over the remains of two additional hostages to the Red Cross under the truce agreement. The Israeli military confirmed that the bodies were being transferred to its security forces in Gaza.
The issue of dead hostages has become a major obstacle in implementing the next phase of the ceasefire. Israel has reportedly linked the reopening of the Rafah crossing to the full recovery of all hostages’ remains.
“Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said during an interview on Channel 14.
“When that is successfully completed — hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way — then the war will end.”
Hamas, however, has rejected the idea of demilitarisation and has been attempting to reassert control over Gaza since the truce began.
Ceasefire Progress and Rafah Crossing Dispute
Under the ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has released 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese. In return, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and released 135 bodies of Palestinians since the truce began on October 10.
The most recent handover, on Friday night, was identified as Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who died in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
While the Palestinian mission in Cairo announced that the Rafah crossing could reopen as early as Monday, Netanyahu’s office countered the claim, directing that the crossing remain closed until further notice.
“Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased,” the Israeli government said.
Hamas warned that closing Rafah would delay the recovery and transfer of bodies, complicating humanitarian operations.
Humanitarian Concerns in Gaza
In northern Gaza, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described the destruction as “a vast wasteland,” noting that displaced residents were digging makeshift latrines among the ruins.
“We have a massive 60-day plan to surge in food, get a million meals out daily, rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, and get hundreds of thousands of kids back to school,” Fletcher said.
Despite the ceasefire, sporadic violence continues. Gaza’s civil defence agency said nine Palestinians, including four children, were killed when Israeli tank shells struck a bus carrying members of the Shaaban family.
At Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, grieving relatives demanded justice.
“My daughter, her children and her husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?” cried Umm Mohammed Shaaban.
The Israeli military maintained that its troops fired at a vehicle that posed an “imminent threat” after it approached a restricted zone.
“The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement,” it stated.
