Future talks with Hamas will only be conducted ‘under fire,’ says Netanyahu

Israeli prime minister defends decision to resume war against Hamas, citing terror group’s refusal to release additional hostages under existing ceasefire deal.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his decision to resume large-scale military operations against the Hamas terror organization in Gaza Tuesday, while leaving the door open to future negotiations towards additional hostage releases.

In a pair of video statements released Tuesday night, Netanyahu addressed the air campaign against Gaza terror groups launched before dawn Tuesday morning.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas not only for the Gaza war, but also for the deadlock in talks in Doha, Qatar, since the January 19th ceasefire agreement lapsed on March 2nd.

“Hamas is responsible for this war,” Netanyahu said. “It invaded our towns, murdered our people, raped our women, and kidnapped our loved ones. Hamas refused offer after offer to release our hostages.”

“In the past two weeks, Israel did not initiate any military action in the hope that Hamas would change course. Well, that didn’t happen,” he said.

The Israeli premier emphasized that Jerusalem had embraced a proposal put forward by the U.S., under which Israel would extend the Gaza ceasefire by 50 days in exchange for the release of all the remaining 59 hostages, half of whom would be freed at the beginning of the ceasefire, with the remaining half to be returned at its conclusion.

“While Israel accepted the offer of President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Hamas flatly refused to do so. This is why I authorized yesterday the renewal of military action against Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

Rebutting criticism abroad regarding Israel’s airstrikes on Tuesday, which the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed killed over 400 people, Netanyahu said that each strike targeted positions held by Hamas terrorists. “Israel does not target Palestinian civilians. We target Hamas terrorists. And when these terrorists embed themselves in civilian areas, when they use civilians as human shields, they are the ones who are responsible for all unintended casualties.”

Netanyahu reiterated the IDF’s call on Tuesday for Gazans living in the periphery of the Gaza Strip to evacuate areas close to the Israeli frontier.

“Palestinian civilians should avoid any contact with Hamas terrorists, and I call on the people of Gaza: Get out of harm’s way. Move to safer areas. Because every civilian casualty is a tragedy, and every civilian casualty is the fault of Hamas.”

The prime minister said that while he was willing to resume talks with Hamas, from now on, negotiations would be conducted “under fire” and that Israel would not halt its fighting again during talks.

“From here on out, Israel will use ever increasing force against Hamas. From here on out, negotiations will be conducted only under fire,” he declared.