Hostage deal ‘won’t stop invasion’
Benjamin Netantyahu has said a hostage deal with Hamas would not stop the Israeli invasion of Rafah, as the two sides edged closer to a temporary ceasefire agreement.
The prime minister of Israel said a deal was on the table after negotiations in Paris at the weekend, but that the terror group’s demands were on “another planet”.
The talks began with “crazy demands” that Israel would not agree to, he told CBS.
“It’s too soon to say if they’ve abandoned them, but if they do abandon them and get into what you call the ballpark … they’re not even in the city. They’re on another planet,” he said. “But if they come down to a reasonable situation then, yes, we’ll have a hostage deal. I hope so.”
Ronen Bar and David Barnea, Israel’s two intelligence chiefs, and officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar held talks in Paris at the weekend. Negotiations are expected to continue next week in Qatar.
The framework agreement would reportedly involve a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of up to 40 hostages.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released, some of whom have been convicted of killing Israelis, according to American news site Axios. A limited number of Palestinians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza, while humanitarian aid will be significantly increased, it reported.
US, Arab and other mediators have voiced hope a deal can be reached before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan around March 10, a date that was previously given by Israel as a deadline before it invaded Rafah.
However, Nethanyahu said a hostage deal would only delay the controversial offensive, not cancel it. “If we have a deal, it’ll be delayed somewhat, but it’ll happen. If we don’t have a deal, we’ll do it anyway. It has to be done. Because total victory is our goal, and total victory is within reach.”
It comes as Israel’s military proposed a plan yesterday for evacuating civilians from the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military “presented the War Cabinet with a plan for evacuating the population from areas of fighting in the Gaza Strip, and with the upcoming operational plan”, a statement from Netayahu’s office said. It did not give any details about how or where the civilians would be moved.
Israel has said four of Hamas’ 24 battalions are sheltering in Rafah from IDF forces in the north of Gaza.
The US, along with other world leaders and major aid groups, has warned an offensive in the southern city, currently home to 1.5 million Gazans, would lead to a humanitarian disaster. – Telegraph Group