The Israeli prime minister has once again rejected the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza, which the UN says has become "a graveyard for children", and vowed to take "overall responsibility for security" there after the war enters its second month on Tuesday.
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There will be no ceasefire, no general ceasefire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages," Netanyahu said in a televised interview with ABC News on Monday, in which he also said Israel would take "for an indefinite period of time the overall responsibility for security" in the Palestinian territory after the war. "When we don't have that responsibility for security, we see the eruption of Hamas terror," he added.
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'A Vichy government'
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.
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". "The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis, it is a crisis of humanity," he said.
For the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent, Younis Al-Khatib, "we are witnessing crimes against humanity every day. Thousands and thousands of civilians are being killed... Our men were killed. Our volunteers were killed." The IDF's targeted bombing of Gaza, launched in retaliation for the barbaric terror attack carried out on October 7 on its soil by Hamas, killed 10,022 people, according to the Hamas terror organization's toll on Monday.
'Possibility of tactical breaks'
Guterres also reiterated his condemnation of Hamas' "heinous terrorist acts" on October 7 and lashed out at the Palestinian terror movement for using "civilians as human shields and continuing to fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel."
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More than 1400,40 people died in Israel, according to authorities, including 240 French nationals, on the day of the Hamas attack, the deadliest in the country's history. Hamas also took more than <> hostages to Gaza. The White House announced that President Joe Biden had discussed with Benjamin Netanyahu the "possibility of tactical pauses (in the fighting) to provide civilians with opportunities to safely leave combat zones, ensure aid reaches civilians in need, and allow for the potential release of hostages."
On Sunday evening, the Israeli army announced the intensification of its bombing campaign that is expected to last "several days" while its soldiers have been operating parallel on the ground since October 27.