One month into the Israel-Hamas conflict and the battle rages on. Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with ABC News’ David Muir regarding his country’s stance on the situation at hand.
Netanyahu has declared that Israel will maintain “overall security responsibility” over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite amount of time after the war against Hamas ends. He believes this is necessary in order to prevent another eruption of terror from Hamas, which he believes could happen if they are not held accountable.
This stance has been voiced by other Israeli officials as well, though it is still unclear what exactly this security responsibility entails and whether or not it implies occupation of Gaza post-war. The Biden administration has opposed this idea, instead pushing for an alternative plan regarding who would govern Gaza if it succeeds in removing Hamas from power.
EXCLUSIVE: @DavidMuir interviews Israeli PM Netanyahu, pressing him on the Biden administration’s calls for a humanitarian pause in Gaza as the death toll climbs; if he bears responsibility for intelligence failures on Oct. 7; and more. https://t.co/zjSKIi5FJF pic.twitter.com/LydTy5XtZf
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 7, 2023
At first, Netanyahu dodged questions on agreeing with President Joe Biden’s call for humanitarian pauses during fighting but eventually hinted at being more flexible on the issue. He stated that short pauses could be agreed upon if necessary, citing one instance where such action was taken when two hostages were released by Hamas and needed safe passage out of Gaza.
However, he also made clear that any ceasefire would only take place if all 240 hostages currently being held by Hamas were released as well.
When asked about potential risk posed to hostages due to ongoing ground operations conducted by Israel, Netanyahu responded that they are taking it into consideration while arguing that pressure on Hamas had increased since their ground invasion began earlier this month – despite no previous evidence of them releasing any hostages before then having occurred either way.
When asked about taking responsibility for events occurring since October 7th – which other Israeli leaders have done – he stated that questions related to that would be addressed after the war ends and he would answer them himself without evasion of any kind.
Finally, when questioned about Iran’s involvement in Lebanon alongside its proxy Hezbollah amid escalating skirmishes near Israel’s northern borders, Netanyahu warned them not to enter into the war in any significant capacity as retaliatory response from his country would be immensely powerful should they do so otherwise.
