Amid reports of another ceasefire agreement in the talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, December 20, that the Gaza ceasefire would not be implemented until the elimination of Hamas.
In a video statement, he said, “We are continuing the war until the end. It will continue until Hamas is eliminated— until victory.”
“Those who think we will stop are disconnected from reality. We will not stop fighting until we achieve all our goals: the destruction of Hamas, the return of our hostages and the removal of the threat from Gaza.
“We are attacking Hamas with fire—hellish fire. Everywhere, including today,” continued Netanyahu.
“We are also targeting their facilitators near and far. Every Hamas terrorist, from the first to the last, has only two options: surrender or die.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Egypt to hold talks on reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of prisoners with the Israeli occupation.
The United Nations’ draft resolution for Gaza ceasefire has been postponed due to last-minute negotiations, aiming to avoid a potential US veto, and has been pushed to Wednesday.
Since October 7, Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in the deaths of 19,667 Palestinians, with Hamas’s attack on Israel causing nearly 1,140 deaths.
