Israel will start negotiations to end fire, says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the negotiations to start the release of all other hostages and the termination of the Gaza war at the terms “acceptable to Israel”.

Netanyahu told Israeli troops on Thursday night that his cabinet also approved plans for a mass attack on Gaza in northern territory, despite the widespread international and domestic opposition.

Hamas agreed to a proposal made by Qatari and Egyptian mediators for a 60-day termination of fire on Monday, which, according to Qatar, will see the release of half of the other hostages in Gaza.

But responding for the first time, Netanyahu did not accept the deal at the time of the table.

The Israeli media quote an Israeli official that the negotiators will be sent for updated conversations after a place is designated.

In a video statement during a visit with the headquarters of the Gaza Department in Israel on Thursday night, Netanyahu said he “instructed to immediately start negotiations to release all our hostages.”

“I came to approve of IDF plans to take control of the city of Gaza and defeat Hamas,” he said.

“These two questions – defeating Hamas and posting all our hostages – go hand in hand,” Netanyahu added, without providing details about what will lead to the next stage of conversations.

Israeli officials this week expressed an opposition to the fire termination transaction, which will include only the partial release of hostages.

On Wednesday, Hamas accused Netanyahu of neglecting the proposal to end the fire of the intermediaries and accused him of preventing an agreement, according to a statement cited by Reuters.

Last Saturday, Netanyahu’s office stated that Israel would “agree only to a transaction on condition that all hostages were released into one go” and that the conditions for termination of the war include disarming Hamas, demilitarization of gas, Israeli control over the perimeter of Gaza.

Israel believes that only 20 of the 50 hostages are still alive after 22 months of war.

The Palestinians said there were heavy bombing in the eastern regions of Gaza on Thursday, a day after the military said they had taken the first steps in the offensive.

IDF warned Medical officers and international organizations to prepare for the planned evacuation of the entire population of Gaza by one million inhabitants to shelters to the south before the troops move.

The Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza said it rejected “every step that will undermine what remains from the healthcare system.” The UN groups and the aid vowed to stay to help those who cannot or choose not to move.

Netanyahu announced Israel’s intention to take control of the entire Gaza strip after the indirect conversations with Hamas to end the fire and the deal to release hostages broke up last month.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to an attack led by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 others were hostage.

Since then, at least 62,192 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the territory. The ministry’s numbers are cited by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available to the victims.