If an agreement is reached – and I hope it will be – Israel will continue to wage war afterwards, Netanyahu said during the meeting, according to Israeli Keshet 12.
There is no point in pretending otherwise. Resuming the fighting is necessary to achieve the war's goals. Saying so does not counteract an agreement – it encourages it.
Netanyahu's statement is said to have caused concern among the Israeli team currently negotiating a ceasefire with terrorist-stamped Hamas, reports The Times of Israel. The Islamist movement has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire to agree to release the remaining hostages in Gaza.
The hostage negotiations have also encountered obstacles, reports the Israeli public service company Kan. Hamas is said to have partially opposed the list of 34 living hostages that Israel demands be released during the first phase of the ceasefire. According to Kan's source, Hamas refuses to release twelve of them – and instead offers 22 living and 12 dead hostages in the first stage.
Israel is said to have flatly rejected the proposal and made it clear that it will only accept living hostages during the first phase of the agreement, according to Kan.
