“Israel will agree to a ceasefire only in exchange for the release of a ‘large’ number of hostages, not a ‘manipulative release’ by Hamas for public relations purposes,” he clarified. the chairman of the National Security Council, Jachi Hanegbi during a press conference he gave,.

“Only then will we agree to a ceasefire which will be very limited and short because then we will continue to move towards our goals for the war,” added Hanegby.

He also said the War Cabinet is united in its strategy to push for the release of the hostages, indicating ministers believe it will happen only if Hamas feels under pressure, rejecting Qatari mediators’ claim that the IDF ground invasion complicates the conversations.

Hanegby argued that in talks with US President Joe Biden and other world leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted calls for ceasefires and humanitarian pauses without releasing hostages.

“We are in the 42nd day of the war and we have not agreed to order the IDF to stop its advance even for a minute,” he said.

At the same time, he said that after the hostages were released on October 20 and 22, there was a proposal to release 10 more hostages – eight of whom were Thai workers – as well as a proposal to release 15 hostages. However, these were rejected by Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet, adding that Israel would not agree to a temporary ceasefire for such a small number of hostages, while around 240 hostages remain in Gaza.

There are no “compromises” on this matter, he clarified Hanegby.

“In the heart of Gaza the Israeli operation”

Regarding the ongoing fighting, the chairman of the National Security Council asserted that the IDF is three weeks into its ground invasion of Gaza and is now operating in the heart of Gaza City, hitting any target it wishes.

Thousands of terrorists have been killed, including senior members of the Hamas leadership, Hangebi said.

“All the targets set by the security cabinet have been met and as the prime minister said, ‘this is just the beginning.’ We are determined to reach the end of the battle and the end of the battle will be the end of Hamas. We will not stop until all the military and leadership capabilities of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are eliminated,” Hanegbi stressed.

The chairman of the National Security Council, Jachi Hanegbi, was asked during a press conference what Israel’s strategy for Gaza is after the war. But Hanegbi avoided answering the question, reiterating Israel’s short-term goals.

“The plan for the war is to eliminate Hamas. It is the only way we can ensure that we are not then threatened by Gaza, which is the number one objective that the Cabinet has instructed the military to achieve. The second objective, which is as sacred as the first, is to free the hostages,” concluded Hanegby saying he could not go into details, but insisted that “we are determined to free all the hostages and we will not rest until we achieve our goal.”