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On Saturday, 20 April, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced increased military pressure on Hamas after the Palestinian group rejected Jerusalem’s proposal for another temporary truce. In return, Hamas demands a complete end to the war in exchange for the release of hostages.
In his televised address, Netanyahu emphasised:
“This war is difficult and expensive, but we have no choice but to continue the fight for Israel’s very existence – until victory.”
This was reported by Reuters.
Negotiations mediated by Egypt, which were supposed to restore the ceasefire, collapsed last month. Hamas released 38 hostages, but the parties did not reach a new agreement. Now the group is demanding a large-scale agreement that would provide for a complete cessation of hostilities, which Israel strongly opposes, agreeing only to temporary humanitarian pauses.
On the same day, Hamas claimed to have discovered the body of a security guard who was presumably killed in a recent Israeli air strike. He had been holding captive Idan Alexander, an Israeli army soldier, US and Israeli citizen, who is believed to be the last hostage with an American passport still alive in Gaza.
Hamas reported that it had lost contact with the group of militants who had been holding Alexander after the Israeli attack.
US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has previously stated that Alexander’s release is a priority for Washington. Last month, this was discussed during meetings between Hamas and US negotiator Adam Beller.
Currently, at least 59 hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip, most of them in an unknown condition. It is estimated that less than half remain alive.
Israel, which completely blockaded Gaza in March, resumed an active offensive on 18 March after negotiations failed to extend the ceasefire. Since then, the Israeli army has seized a number of areas, ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate. The Strip itself fears that this may be part of a plan to permanently “depopulate” certain areas.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 1,600 people have been killed in the past month, including at least 92 in the past 48 hours, including at least 50 on Saturday.
Netanyahu did not mention Idan Alexander in his speech, which caused some criticism from NGOs. As Israel continues its attacks and Hamas rigidly links the fate of hostages to the conditions for ending the war, the negotiations have reached a deadlock.
