Netanyahu Said Israel Has Returned To Fight With Force In Gaza And "This Is Only The Beginning"
Netanyahu claimed that the two previous pauses in fighting had proven that military pressure is a necessary condition for Hamas to release more hostages.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made his first statement after Israel unilaterally ended the ceasefire by launching massive airstrikes on Gaza and killing more than 404 Palestinians in less than 24 hours.
Speaking on the evening of Tuesday, March 18, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had returned to "fighting with force" in Gaza and that it is only the beginning.
This comes after Israel refused to implement phase two of the ceasefire deal, which was supposed to begin on March 1, saying that Hamas must now accept a US deal that that was not part of the original ceasefire deal and would involve extending phase one of the ceasefire by 50 days and Hamas releasing all the Israeli hostages.
Netanyahu said that Israel had "worked tirelessly" to try to bring back the hostages during the ceasefire, including sending delegations to Doha and Cairo for negotiations, extending the ceasefire even during weeks when they didn't receive hostages, and accepting proposals, including the most recently one put forward by the US.
He then said that Hamas had repeatedly rejected every proposal, meaning that Israel had to return to fighting.
"From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing force," he said. "And from now, negotiations will only be conducted under fire."
He repeated that Israel will continue until it achieves all of its war goals, including freeing all the hostages, eliminating Hamas and ensuring Gaza no longer poses a threat.
Netanyahu claimed that the two previous pauses in fighting had proven that military pressure is a necessary condition for Hamas to release more hostages.
"The military strike on Hamas and freeing our hostages are not conflicting goals; these are goals that are intertwined," he said.
He also rejected accusations that he had resumed the attacks on Gaza for his own political survival and appease the far-right members of his coalition.
Netanyahu thanked the US for launching airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, saying that there was much more work to do to fight Iran's axis of evil.
Israeli resumed its genocide on Tuesday, March 18, launching massive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip and killing more than 404 people in less than 24 hours.
Israel has refused to implement phase two of the ceasefire, which was supposed to begin on March 1, saying that Hamas must now accept a new US deal that would involve extending phase one of the ceasefire by 50 days and Hamas releasing all the Israeli hostages.
After Hamas refused and insisted on sticking to the original deal, Israel cut off all aid, including, food, water, medicine and fuel, as well as electricity to Gaza, which is now under a full blockade.
Israel is now also blocking all medical evacuations from Gaza.
More On Israel's Genocide In Gaza
Cherry Mohamed
Kassy Cho
Kassy Cho
