Netanyahu rejects calls to soften demands on Hamas, apologises to hostage family

London: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls to soften his demand to keep troops in the southern Gazan border area as the price for a ceasefire deal, saying it was vital for Israel to control a key lifeline for Hamas.

The issue of the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, has been a major sticking point in efforts to secure a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and return Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

People at a Tel Aviv rally demanding a ceasefire deal and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas.Credit: AP

Hamas has rejected any Israeli presence, while Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not abandon the corridor, where Israeli troops have uncovered dozens of tunnels they say have been used to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Gaza.

“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi corridor, and for that reason we must control the Philadelphi corridor,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem.

“Hamas insists for that reason that we not be there, and for that reason, I insist that we be there.”

Israelis poured into the streets late on Sunday in grief and anger after Hamas murdered six hostages who were on the verge of being rescued, in what appeared to be the largest protest since the start of the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Credit: AP

The families and much of the public blamed Netanyahu, saying the hostages could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas. A rare general strike was held across the country on Monday but ended more than eight hours after it began, after a court ruled that the work stoppage was “political” and that organisers had not given enough notice for it to go ahead, The New York Times reported.

Netanyahu has apologised for not freeing the hostages, whose bodies were recovered by the Israeli military from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The military said they had been shot dead by their captors as Israeli forces got close.

“The prime minister expressed deep regret, and apologised to the family, that the State of Israel did not succeed in returning Alexander and the other five hostages alive,” Netanyahu said to the parents of one of the six, Alex Lubnov on Sunday, his office said in a statement reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Key ally the United States is showing impatience with Netanyahu.

US President Joe Biden says Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough. Credit: AP

US President Joe Biden spoke to reporters as he arrived at the White House for a Situation Room meeting with the US mediation team in the negotiations. Asked if Netanyahu was doing enough, Biden responded, “No.”

He insisted that negotiators remain “very close” to a deal, adding, “Hope springs eternal.”

Hamas’ armed wing said on Monday that, since June, the group had been operating under new instructions on how to handle hostages should Israeli forces approach their locations in Gaza.

Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, did not provide details on what the instructions were. He said his group held Israel responsible for the hostages’ deaths.

The hostages killed (clockwise from top left): Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov and Almog Sarusi.Credit: AP

The new instructions, Abu Ubaida said, were given to guards of hostages after a rescue operation by Israel in June. At that time, Israeli forces freed four hostages in a raid in which dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, were killed.

“Netanyahu’s insistence to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal means they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose whether they want them dead or alive,” he said.

Later on Monday, the Hamas armed wing published a prerecorded video of one of the six dead hostages, urging Netanyahu to conclude a deal to free them, saying she feared she could die in captivity. The date of when the video was recorded was unclear.

Britain meanwhile said it would immediately suspend 30 of its 350 arms export licences with Israel because there was a risk such equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Monday.

Lammy said the decision to suspend the licences did not amount to a blanket ban or an arms embargo, but only involved those that could be used in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

“We recognise, of course, Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods that Israel’s employed, and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure particularly,” he told parliament.

Soon after the Labour Party won the election in July, Lammy said he would update a review on arms sales to Israel to ensure they complied with international law.

“It is with regret that I inform the House [of Commons] today the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” Lammy said.

Protesters gather around a bonfire in Tel Aviv on the second day of demonstrations demanding a Gaza deal.Credit: Getty Images

British exports amount to less than 1 per cent of the total arms Israel receives, and the minister said the suspension would not have a material impact on Israel’s security, and Britain continued to support its right to self-defence.

Unlike the US, Britain’s government does not give arms directly to Israel but rather issues licences for companies to sell weapons, with input from lawyers on whether they complied with international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the decision was disappointing and “sends a very problematic message” to Hamas and its patrons in Iran.

Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders are being investigated for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity following the October 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel, which killed 1200 people, by Israeli tallies.

The Israeli response in Gaza has killed more than 40,700 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Reuters

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