 "Hamas accuses Israel's Netanyahu of endangering hostages for political gain")
Hamas on Thursday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting the lives of Israeli hostages at risk by prioritising military escalation in Gaza for political gain
“Netanyahu’s plans to escalate the aggression confirm beyond any doubt his desire to get rid of the captives and sacrifice them in pursuit of his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda,” the Palestinian terrorist group said in a statement.
The remarks came as Netanyahu’s security cabinet convened to review Israel’s war strategy, with the prime minister stating that Israel intends to take “full control” of Gaza but does not plan to govern the territory permanently.
Netanyahu, facing intensifying domestic and international pressure to strike a deal for the hostages and avert famine in Gaza, also appeared on Fox News, reaffirming his government’s stance nearly two years into the war against Hamas.
“We intend to,” Netanyahu replied, when asked if Israel will take control of “all of Gaza."
Netanyahu is expected to seek the security cabinet’s approval for the expanded offensive, which will see the army operate in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, Israeli media reported.
Asked by Fox News if Israel would again control the whole of Gaza, as it did between 1967 and 2005, Netanyahu replied: “Well, we don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it.
“We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That’s not possible with Hamas,” he said.
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View AllThe government’s plans to expand the war have sparked growing concern in Israel about what it means for the remaining hostages, who have already endured 22 months in captivity since Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
With inputs from agencies
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