From the Liveblog of
Saturday, May 17, 2025
As ceasefire talks resume, Ben Gvir pledges to oppose ‘surrender to Satan’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Hamas’s willingness to discuss another hostage deal is the direct result of heavy Israeli military pressure, declares National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, calling on Israel to continue fighting.
“Hamas’s sudden ‘flexibility’ in the negotiations is not because it suddenly craved peace, but because the IDF increased its pressure. Precisely for this reason, this is not the time to retreat and let Hamas breathe and recover again, but to put the pedal to the metal — until Hamas surrenders,” the far-right politician says in a statement.
“We must now enter Gaza with all our might and finish the job — occupying, seizing the territory, crushing the enemy, and freeing our hostages by force,” he says.
Adding that he has conveyed this view to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben Gvir pledges to “continue to fight against all agreements of surrender to Satan.”
A new round of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel began in Qatar today after the Israeli military launched its new expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to both Israeli and Hamas officials.
In January, Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party quit the coalition over the previous Gaza ceasefire. The party returned in March as Israel resumed fighting.
The Times of Israel Community.