No End To Gaza War In Exchange For Hostage Swap, Israel's Netanyahu Says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected calls to end his deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip in return for a hostage swap deal with Hamas.Netanyahu claimed that ending the Gaza war now would keep Hamas in power in the blockaded enclave.

"Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, first among them the demand to remove all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas in power. Israel cannot accept that," he said in a video message on X.

The Israeli premier blamed media reports for damaging the Gaza hostage swap negotiations and causing "unnecessary suffering" for families, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

He insisted that Tel Aviv is ready to pause fighting in Gaza in order to secure the release of hostages held by the Palestinian group.

His statements came as a Hamas delegation was holding talks in Egypt for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap with Israel.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel's ongoing offensive on Gaza in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack led by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi -