Israel refuses temporary cease-fire, spurning Blinken call for ‘pause’
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WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his country would not consider halting its war on Hamas, rejecting Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for “humanitarian pauses” to allow civilians out of the Gaza Strip.
Israel “refuses a temporary cease-fire that doesn’t include a return of our hostages,” Netanyahu told reporters, referring to the more than 200 people taken captive by terrorists during their Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis — including at least 33 Americans.
The prime minister spoke after a meeting with Blinken, during which America’s top diplomat urged Netanyahu to stop the conflict to minimize Palestinian civilian deaths as Israel pursues Hamas jihadists hiding among the population in Gaza.
“Humanitarian pauses … increase security for civilians and permit the more effective and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance,” Blinken said during a press conference Friday morning. “We are focused on getting hostages back to their families and we believe a humanitarian pause could facilitate it.”
“That was an important area of discussion today with Israeli leaders — how, when and where these can be implemented, what work needs to happen, and what understandings must be reached,” he added.
But during his own press briefing shortly after, Netanyahu said his country would continue hitting the Gaza Strip with “all of its power.”
Israel-Hamas war: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Terrorists killed more than 1,400 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
It’s the latest indication of subtle tension between the White House and Israel over the way in which the Jewish state is handling the conflict, as the Biden administration continues urging Israel to pull its punches as the ground assault grinds on.
On Wednesday, President Biden himself said, “I think we need a pause” when confronted by a heckler during a campaign speech in Minnesota.
While Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the secretary that Israel was not interested in pursuing a pause in fighting, Blinken said the US and Israel discussed ways to make a temporary stop more possible.
“A number of legitimate questions were raised by Israel including how to connect the pause to the release of hostages and how to make sure Hamas doesn’t use these pauses to its own advantage,” Blinken said. “These are issues we need to tackle urgently and we believe it can be solved.”
In addition to the temporary pauses, the US has been pushing Israel to allow humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza. Blinken said officials “identified mechanisms to enable fuel to reach hospitals and other needs in southern Gaza Strip” during their meeting.
However, Netanyahu said in a statement that “Israel won’t allow entry of fuel to Gaza and objects to transfer of money to Gaza” despite Blinken’s report.
“Israel raised appropriate concern we share about Hamas hoarding fuel in northern Gaza,” Blinken said of the discussion.
Blinken also met with President Isaac Herzog and the Israeli war cabinet during his visit there Friday.
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