Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed to press ahead with Israel's offensive and blasted a UN Security Council resolution calling for a pause in the fighting, saying it had emboldened Hamas to reject a separate proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release.
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As the war in Gaza grinds through a sixth month, each side has publicly insisted that its own idea of victory is in reach and rejected international efforts to stem the bloodshed.
Netanyahu has said Israel can achieve its aims of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages if it expands its ground offensive to the southern city of Rafah. Hamas has said it will hold onto the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent cease-fire, withdraws its forces from Gaza and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top terrorists. It said late Monday that it has rejected a recent proposal that fell short of those demands – which, if fulfilled, would allow it to claim an extremely costly victory.
Video: Qatar: UN Gaza resolution has no immediate impact on Doha ceasefire talks / Credit: Reuters
Netanyahu said in a statement that the announcement "proved clearly that Hamas is not interested in continuing negotiations toward a deal and served as unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council decision. Israel will not surrender to Hamas' delusional demands and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: releasing all the hostages, destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel."
On Monday, the Security Council finally managed to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire as the United States abstained instead of vetoing the measure, angering Israel in a major escalation of tensions between the two close allies. The resolution calls for the release of all hostages held in Gaza but did not condition the cease-fire on it.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio on Tuesday that the resolution had emboldened Hamas by signaling that international pressure would end the war without it having to make any concessions.
"The message delivered to Hamas yesterday … is that you don't have to hurry," Katz said.
Video: Shooting at IDF troops from the Al Shifa hospital / Credit: IDF
The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have spent several weeks trying to negotiate another cease-fire and hostage release, but those efforts appeared to have stalled.
Hamas said late Monday that Israel has not responded to its core demands of a "comprehensive cease-fire, an (Israeli) withdrawal from the Strip, the return of displaced people and a real prisoner exchange." Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which is currently hosting the talks, told reporters that the negotiations were still ongoing, without providing details.
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