Israel has a concrete plan “to move forward” with its military campaign in Gaza, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
“If at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive]. At the moment, we’re left without any choice.”
A separate Israeli official tells the Israel Hayom newspaper that Israel’s goal in the renewed air campaign in Gaza is to push Hamas to agree to the original “Witkoff proposal” for hostage talks.
The outline, attributed by Israel to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, would see half the hostages released at the beginning of an extension of the ceasefire, which would extend till after Passover in mid-April. The rest would be released if an agreement is reached on ending the war.
“Without small releases of hostage and without games, the goal is to get everyone out,” the official says.
“Israel waited three weeks for Hamas to begin serious talks on the Witkoff outline,” continues the official. “That didn’t happen.”
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
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