Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that the war in Gaza won’t be over until the second phase of the truce is implemented. This means ‘Hamas being stripped of its weapons and the Palestinian territory demilitarised.’ He framed the military group’s disarmament as a non-negotiable condition in an interview with the right-wing Channel 14.
“Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas or more precisely, the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, following the stripping of Hamas of its weapons…When that is completed, hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way, then the war will end,” Netanyahu said. He emphasized that the war will end for good when the agreement terms that were accepted are implemented.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s remarks come during his appearance on Channel 14 amid mounting international pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza. “That includes, first of all, stage one, the return of all of our hostages. We are working on that right now. We are standing firm on the agreement being implemented in its entirety,” the Times of Israel quoted him as saying.
Netanyahu Orders Closure Of Rafah Border Crossing
Amid this, Israel declared that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will be shut “until further notice.” Netanyahu’s office said the reopening of the crossing will hinge on how Hamas delivers the ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages. So far, the remains of 10 hostages have been handed over. The militant group handed over the remains of two more hostages Saturday evening. Meanwhile, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt had said it would reopen on Monday for civilians returning to Gaza.
US Warns Hamas
The United States on Saturday threatened Hamas with retaliation over what it described as a “planned attack” on civilians in Gaza. The Department of State said that such an act would constitute a “direct and grave violation” of the existing ceasefire agreement with Israel.
