Netanyahu vows not to cave to US pressure to end Gaza war

Israeli prime minister reassures his government that the war in Gaza will continue until Hamas has been destroyed as a military and a political force in the Strip – and criticizes US for not pursuing Gaza resettlement plan.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to senior coalition members on Monday that his government will not yield to American pressure to end the current war in Gaza until Hamas has been destroyed as a political and military force in the coastal enclave, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Monday night.

The report came hours after Edan Alexander, an IDF soldier with American citizenship who was taken hostage during the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023, was returned to Israel as a goodwill gesture to the Trump administration.

Ahead of Alexander’s return, Netanyahu’s office announced that the U.S. had “conveyed to Israel that this is expected to lead to negotiations” with Hamas, with the Trump administration reportedly urging Israel to hold off on its planned takeover of the Gaza Strip.

In comments ahead of Alexander’s release, President Donald Trump hinted that the dual U.S.-Israeli citizen’s return could mark the beginning of the end of the war in Gaza.

“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

However, Netanyahu reassured his coalition partners that Israel would not agree to permanently end the war in Gaza even in exchange for the release of the remaining 58 hostages, of whom 35 are known to be dead.

The prime minister said that Israel would only be willing to enter into an agreement with Hamas on the basis of the Witkoff proposal for a limited deal, including a 40-day ceasefire during which Hamas would return the remaining hostages with Israel freeing jailed Arab terrorists in exchange.

Netanyahu, who on Monday told wounded soldiers that the IDF is poised to launch an unprecedented campaign to capture and permanently occupy the Gaza Strip, said that the only way a deal with Hamas can lead to the scrapping of the planned campaign is if the terror group agrees to disarm.

But the odds of reaching such a deal are slim, officials say, with one official present during Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu being quoted as saying, “It will be very difficult to reach an agreement under these conditions.”

Prior to the meeting, Netanyahu met with an American delegation, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, to discuss Israel’s plans in Gaza and the ongoing efforts to secure a hostage deal.

The Israeli premier is reportedly frustrated with the lack of progress in implementing Trump’s Gaza resettlement plan that was announced on February 4.

During a closed session of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Netanyahu reportedly told lawmakers that the U.S. “is not doing what it should” to move forward with potential host countries.

According to Netanyahu, large numbers of Gazans are waiting to emigrate, as per Trump’s plan, but do not yet have countries willing to take them in.