Netanyahu pushes for a military solution: “Hamas does not want an agreement”

Israel is considering a final offensive in Gaza to free the last hostages. But the civilian death toll is rising and the blockade of humanitarian aid is exacerbating tensions

TEL AVIV – Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering a military solution to free the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas. According to diplomatic sources reported by the Hebrew media, the Israeli prime minister believes that “Hamas is not interested in any agreement” and is promoting an expansive military operation as the only way out.

Currently, it is believed that there are about 20 hostages still alive, survivors of the massacre of 7 October 2023. Netanyahu is said to have proposed extending armed operations in the Gaza Strip, focusing on “a decisive military victory” and targeted infiltration to extract the prisoners. This strategy has already raised concerns among the families of the hostages, who fear for the safety of their loved ones.

No room for a truce
“Hamas does not want an agreement,” said an Israeli government source. The Islamist organisation has reportedly rejected any possibility of negotiation without a significant improvement in humanitarian conditions in the Strip, demanding at least 250 aid trucks per day as a precondition. The request, reported in the Jerusalem Post, was conveyed to regional mediators, but Israel considers the group’s stance to be a veiled rejection of negotiations.

In support of his position, Netanyahu reiterated that aid will only be allowed to pass through areas outside the combat zones and, if possible, away from Hamas’ direct control. However, this line is also a source of tension at the international level: the United States, through its special envoy Steve Witkoff, has reportedly expressed opposition to the idea of military expansion and is instead proposing a negotiated solution, ruling out the possibility of partial agreements.

Bombs, hunger and protests
While the fate of the hostages is being discussed, the people of Gaza continue to pay the highest price. At least 21 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours in Israeli raids. Several victims were civilians trying to reach humanitarian aid distribution points. According to hospital sources, seven people were killed and another 20 wounded near the Ghf aid centre in the centre of the Strip. Two other civilians, including a woman, died in Rafah.

Air raids on Deir al-Balah and Beit Lahia caused further deaths, while seven people were reportedly hit in bombings in the Shuja’iyya area of Gaza City. Since the beginning of the conflict, according to Hamas, 180 people have died of malnutrition, including 93 children. In the last 24 hours alone, five people are reported to have died of starvation.

Activists block aid
To further complicate the situation, a group of Israeli activists has blocked the passage of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. According to local media, the tyres of several vehicles arriving from Jordan have been slashed. Among the protesters were friends of Rom Braslavski, the hostage who appeared in a recent video released by Islamic Jihad.

‘Rom was supposed to be in the car with me after the festival. Now he is starving to death, while we send food to his captors,’ said one of the activists, a former security guard at the Nova rave, where one of the most brutal massacres of the 7 October attack took place.

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