Benjamin Netanyahu gives ultimatum to Hamas to 'either die or surrender'

Negotiations for a truce deal between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas appeared to make little headway as fighting between the warring sides raged on in Gaza. According to The Times of Israel, Israel rejected Hamas' requests to end hostilities in the besieged enclave indefinitely.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restated his nation's long-standing stance on the conflict: unless Hamas is "completely destroyed" and the hostages are freed, the combat will not end at all. He said Hamas was given "a simple choice -- either to surrender or die" as they did not "have any option".

Netanyahu said that he would "work with all my power" to guarantee that Gaza ceased to be a danger to the Jewish people after Israel had succeeded in its mission of removing Hamas. "We won't give up until we succeed. We will not end the war until we have accomplished all of its objectives, including freeing all of our captives and completely destroying Hamas," he added.

During a week-long truce under the previous accord, Israel freed 240 Palestinian inmates while Hamas released 105 hostages. The source stated that Israeli and Qatari officials had met twice this week to discuss discussions on a new framework for a ceasefire agreement. "We made clear to everyone in Israel and outside of Israel that it's time to renew the shaping up of new hostages (release) structure," the official added.

The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas sent thousands of gunmen into Israel on October 7 in a massive terror attack that killed around 1,200 people. The invaders also took some 240 hostages, mostly civilians, to Gaza. Israel responded with a military campaign it says aims to destroy Hamas, remove it from power in Gaza, and release the hostages.
 

• Benjamin Netanyahu
• Israel
• Hamas
• Gaza
• Gaza strip