The war between Israel and Hamas enters its second month on Tuesday. Despite numerous calls from the international community for a humanitarian truce, "there will be no general ceasefire in Gaza without the release of our hostages," the Israeli prime minister said in a televised interview with ABC News on Monday night. Some 240 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli military.
Netanyahu's remarks come after UN chief Antonio Guterres called for a "humanitarian ceasefire" that is "more urgent with each passing hour" in the small Palestinian territory, which has been transformed into a "graveyard for children".
Read alsoGaza Strip cut in two, tunnels, Internet... What is Israel's military strategy against Hamas?
During the meeting, the Israeli prime minister was also asked who should govern Gaza after the war. "Those who don't want to continue on the path of Hamas," he replied. Netanyahu has said Israel will take "indefinite responsibility for the overall security" of Gaza once the war with Hamas ends. "When we don't have this responsibility for security, we see the irruption of Hamas terror," he said.
Earlier, Osama Hamdane, a senior member of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Lebanon, said Hamas would remain in Gaza and would not accept "a Vichy government" in the territory it has controlled since 2007, a reference to the French collaborationist regime under Nazi occupation during World War II.
Possible "tactical breaks"
Despite his refusal to agree to a ceasefire, Netanyahu recalled that there had "already been" "small tactical pauses, an hour here, an hour there." The Israeli prime minister was referring to a White House statement that US President Joe Biden had discussed the "possibility of tactical pauses" with him "to provide civilians with opportunities to safely leave combat zones, ensure aid reaches civilians in need, and allow for the potential release of hostages."
"I guess we're going to look at the circumstances to allow humanitarian goods to come in or our hostages to leave. But I don't think there will be a general ceasefire," Netanyahu said. "It would hinder our efforts to get our hostages out, because the only thing that works on these criminals and on Hamas is the military pressure we exert," he said.
VIDEO. Israel-Hamas war: US opposes ceasefire in Gaza
Asked about his responsibility for the bloody attack on October 7, the Israeli prime minister again acknowledged his part. "There is no doubt about that and it has to be resolved after the war," he said, adding that his government had "clearly" failed to meet its obligation to protect its people.
Since Oct. 7, more than 1,400 people have died in Israel, according to authorities, the majority of them civilians killed on the day of the Hamas attack, the deadliest in Israel's history. Hamas also took more than 240 hostages to Gaza. Israeli retaliatory shelling of the Gaza Strip has killed 10,022 people, the majority of them civilians, including more than 4,000 children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry on Monday.