PM Netanyahu Says Ceasefire With Hamas Cannot Prevent Israel From Reaching War Goals

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any ceasefire agreement of the Gaza conflict, Palestine, should allow Israel to continue fighting until its goals are reached.

Five days after the militant group Hamas received an important part of the plan, two officials from the Palestinian militant group said they were waiting for Israel's response to its latest proposal.

PM Netanyahu said he insisted the deal should not deter Israel from continuing the fighting until its war goals are met. The goal was set at the start of the war as the demolition of the military and Hamas government capabilities, as well as the return of the hostages.

"A plan that has been approved by Israel and welcomed by President Biden will allow Israel to return the hostages without violating other war goals," Prime Minister Netanyahu said.

The deal, he said, should also prohibit arms smuggling into Hamas through the Gaza-Egypt border and should not allow thousands of armed militants to return to northern Gaza.

PM Netanyahu is scheduled to hold consultations on Sunday evening regarding the next steps, in negotiations of a three-phase plan initiated in May by US President Joe Biden and mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

It aims to end the war and free about 120 Israeli hostages detained in Gaza.

Hamas itself has withdrawn the main demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement.

Instead, Hamas said it would allow negotiations to achieve it during the first phase lasting six weeks, Hamas sources told Reuters on Saturday on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza did not subside, where on Sunday night the Israeli military renewed orders for residents and refugee families in several districts in Gaza City to leave their homes.

Separately, at least 55 Palestinians were killed and 123 others injured as a result of Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours, according to Sunday's medical sources, quoted by WAFA.

Local health authorities have confirmed that the death toll of Palestinians as a result of the Israeli attack since October 7 has risen to 38,153, while 87,828 others have been injured, with the majority of victims being women and children.