Israel’s Netanyahu vows to press Hamas until disarmament

Shafaq News – Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pledged to pressure Hamas into advancing the next phases of a ceasefire deal, including disarmament, while acknowledging intense domestic and international pressure over the Gaza war and the Israeli hostages.

In a press conference, Netanyahu listed Israel’s priorities as confronting Iran’s missiles, retrieving abducted Israelis, and ensuring national security.

He dismissed claims that the current deal with Hamas had been previously available, calling them “simply lying,” claiming that Hamas accepted the agreement only “when it began to feel the noose tightening around it.”

The first phase of the agreement stipulates that Israeli forces will withdraw from a designated “yellow line” across Gaza within 24 hours, followed by the release of all living Israeli captives—around 20 individuals—within 72 hours, and the gradual return of the bodies of those killed. In exchange, Israel will free more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences and others detained after October 7, 2023.

Earlier today, an Israeli official confirmed the government is working to replace ten Palestinian detainees on the release list under the ceasefire deal, which includes a phased exchange and a pause in fighting.

Read more: Gaza Ceasefire - Phase 1: What we know so far