Netanyahu: 'Israel Will Not Submit to Delusional Demands of Hamas'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to push forward with his campaign to eliminate the Hamas militant group, while also criticizing a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
"Israel will not submit to the delusional demands of Hamas, and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: to release all the abductees, to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said in a statement.
Hamas officials said Monday they told negotiators working on a temporary cease-fire deal that Hamas would not alter its proposal that includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an exchange of hostages held in Gaza for prisoners held by Israel.
The two warring sides have shown little movement in their demands despite weeks of efforts by U.S., Egyptian and Qatari negotiators to find a way to bring a temporary halt in fighting, the release of hostages and an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
Netanyahu said Tuesday that the Hamas positions proves the terror group "is not interested in continuing negotiations for a deal, and is an unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council's decision."
The Security Council resolution adopted Monday "demands" an immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan, which is half over, "leading to a lasting sustainable cease-fire." It also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the lifting of all barriers to the provision of more humanitarian aid, and the protection of civilians in Gaza.
After Months of Deadlock, UN Security Council Demands Gaza Cease-Fire
"This must be a turning point. This must lead to saving lives on the ground," an emotional Palestinian U.N. envoy, Riyad Mansour, told the council. "This must signal the end of this assault of atrocities against our people."
The text, put forward by the 10 elected members of the 15-nation council, was adopted in a vote of 14 in favor with the United States abstaining, allowing the measure to pass. This was the eighth time the council attempted to agree on a cease-fire resolution, and it was greeted with applause in the packed council chamber.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington abstained because, while some of their proposals were taken into account, the text did not include a condemnation of Hamas - a major U.S. demand throughout months of negotiations on previous failed cease-fire resolution attempts.
"However, as I said before, we fully support some of the critical objectives in this non-binding resolution. And we believe it was important for the Council to speak out and make clear that any cease-fire must come with the release of all hostages," she said.
U.N. Security Council resolutions are international law, so it was not immediately clear why she believes it is not binding. Other council members reiterated that council decisions are binding and mandatory.
In Washington, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that 'nothing, nothing has changed about our policy. Nothing.'
Israel's envoy said the resolution is "shameful" because it does not condition the cease-fire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.
"It should be very clear that as long as Hamas refuses to release the hostages in the diplomatic channels, there is no other way to secure their return than through a military operation," Gilad Erdan, Israel's U.N. representative, said.
The 10 elected council members said in a joint statement to reporters after the vote that they hope it will be implemented by all parties and will help ease the suffering of the population in Gaza.
Speaking during a visit to Jordan Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations will keep pushing for more humanitarian access and entry points for aid, and he called for Israel not to institute any limitations or obstacles to aid deliveries.
UN Chief Assails Israel for Blocking Gaza Aid Trucks
International humanitarian groups have complained of a lack of access to reach Palestinian civilians, citing materials being rejected by Israeli inspectors, convoys being held up by Israel and a lack of access inside of Gaza because of the ongoing fighting.
Speaking specifically about the situation in northern Gaza, Guterres said, "it is absolutely essential to have a massive supply of humanitarian aid now."
Military talks in Washington
Meanwhile, there was no halt in the fighting. Israel's military reported Tuesday conducting more operations around the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, as well as ground fighting and airstrikes in central Gaza.
Israel-US Diplomatic Spat Complicates Gaza Situation
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to host talks Tuesday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Pentagon said the meeting was expected to include discussion of efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza as well as the need for more humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Gaza.
Other senior Israeli officials had been expected to take part in separate meetings at the White House, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled their trip Monday after the U.S. did not block the Gaza cease-fire proposal.
"We are very disappointed that they will not be coming to Washington, D.C. to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in on the ground in Rafah,' Kirby told reporters at the White House.
The United States has made it clear it will not support an Israeli attack on Rafah, near the Gaza-Egypt border, without a plan to protect civilians there. Israel has said it has a plan but has not publicly said where the Palestinians sheltering there would be relocated.
More than 1.2 million Palestinians have fled there on orders from Israeli forces who told them to leave their homes in northern Gaza as Israeli troops advanced in the earlier stages of the war.
Palestinians walk past the ruins of houses destroyed during Israel's military offensive, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, March 20, 2024.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has contended that 'we have no way to defeat Hamas without getting into Rafah and eliminating the battalions that are left there.'
The war started with the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies and led to the capture of about 250 hostages. More than 100 were released in November during a temporary cease-fire. About 100 are still believed to be alive, another 30 are believed dead but still held in Gaza. The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says more than 32,200 people have been killed during Israel's counteroffensive. The total includes Hamas fighters and civilians, with the ministry saying two-thirds of the dead are women and children.
VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer and White House Correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this report. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.