Shafaqna India: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted calls to take more action to secure the release of Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip after nearly 11 months of conflict.
Facing significant domestic protests and pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden, Netanyahu’s position has remained firm. Over the weekend, Israeli forces recovered the bodies of six captives, including 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Despite this, Netanyahu showed no willingness to compromise on Monday. He emphasized that control of the Philadelphi Corridor—a narrow strip along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Israel claims is used by Hamas to smuggle weapons—must be part of any ceasefire agreement. Egypt and Hamas deny these allegations, and Hamas opposes any Israeli presence in the corridor.
Netanyahu described the corridor as crucial to preventing Hamas from rearming. “This is the oxygen of Hamas,” he stated, adding, “No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me… No one will preach to me on this issue.”
In response to Netanyahu’s stance, U.S. President Biden expressed frustration, suggesting that Netanyahu was not doing enough to facilitate a deal. Biden indicated that the U.S. plans to present a final proposal to both parties this week. “We’re very close to that,” Biden said, though he remained hopeful about the proposal’s success.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri interpreted Biden’s comments as an acknowledgment of Netanyahu’s role in stalling negotiations. Abu Zuhri indicated that Hamas would consider a proposal that could secure a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
On Monday, Israeli protests continued for a second day, with the largest trade union initiating a general strike to pressure the government into reaching an agreement to return the captives.
Months of intermittent negotiations mediated by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt have yet to yield an agreement on a Gaza proposal put forward by Biden in May.
The recent violence began on October 7 when Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking around 250 captives, according to Israeli sources. Since then, over 40,000 Palestinians have died in the Israeli assault on Gaza, and nearly the entire population of 2.3 million has been displaced.