From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Netanyahu says Israel ‘will not agree to every deal, and not at any price’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Speaking at the beginning of the weekly government meeting in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to put the toppling of Hamas as his main war aim.
“I want to be clear about our policy — the essential goal is first of all the elimination of Hamas,” he says.
The prime minister then lays out three conditions for that to happen: the destruction of the remaining Hamas battalions, 17 out of 24 of which have been defeated; mopping-up operations, which he says the IDF is doing through raids in the northern and central Strip; and the neutralization of Hamas’s tunnel network, “which demands more time.”
Netanyahu emphasizes that Israel will not end the war until all its aims are accomplished — “the elimination of Hamas, bringing back all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again represent a threat to Israel.”
Turning to a potential hostage deal, Netanyahu says that “we will not agree to every deal, and not at any price.” He says reports in the press about agreeing to free large numbers of terrorists are not true.
The Times of Israel Community.