Bibi says no to DC's 'pause'
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his country would not consider halting its war on Hamas, rejecting Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for “humanitarian pauses” to allow civilians out of the Gaza Strip.
Israel “refuses a temporary cease-fire that doesn’t include a return of our hostages,” Netanyahu told reporters, referring to the more than 200 people taken captive by terrorists during their Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis — including at least 33 Americans.
The prime minister spoke after a meeting with Blinken (above), during which America’s top dipNetlomat urged anyahu (inset) to stop the conflict to minimize cideaths vilian as Israel pursues Hamas jihadists hiding among the population in
Gaza. “Humanitarian pauses . . . increase security for civilians and permit the more effective and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance,” Blinken said during a press conference Friday. “We are focused on getting hostages back to their families and we believe a humanitarian pause could facilitate it.” But during his own press briefing shortly after, Netanyahu said Israel would continue hitting the Gaza Strip with “all of its power.”
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told The Post on Friday that a “pause” is currently “not on the table.” “We’re fighting,” Conricus said. “We’re in the first stages of a war against an enemy that has proven that we can not allow that enemy to conto tinue exist at the end of this war. There’s a lot of talk about a lot of things, but many of them are not relevant. This specifically is one of them.”