Netanyahu rejects ceasefire proposal – The Washington Post

“The intense phase of the war will end very soon,” Netanyahu said. “But that doesn’t mean the war will be over.” He added: “I am ready to do a partial deal, which will bring some people back to us. It's not a secret. But we are determined to continue the war after the truce.”

Netanyahu's remarks come as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is visiting Washington, where he was scheduled to meet with U.S. officials to outline a new phase of the war in Gaza and escalating tensions in the north with the group Lebanese militant Hezbollah. In a meeting with U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein on Monday, Gallant said “Phase C” of the war would have impacts on all fronts for Israel, according to a statement from Gallant's office.

The Hostage Families Forum on Monday condemned Netanyahu's comments, saying that ending the conflict in Gaza “without releasing the hostages would be an unprecedented national failure and a deviation from the goals of the war.”

The group said Netanyahu's plan “abandons” the 120 hostages and “violates the state's moral obligation to its citizens.” He said “the responsibility and duty to return all hostages lies with the Prime Minister.”

Hostage families are increasingly clashing with Netanyahu and far-right members of his cabinet over whether it is a priority to reach a hostage deal or continue the fight to destroy Hamas.

In a statement shared Monday on Telegram, Hamas condemned Netanyahu's comments and said its goal of a “partial agreement” would result in the war continuing after the prisoners are recovered – which clearly violates Biden's proposal.

Hamas said its “insistence that any agreement must include clear confirmation of a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” was a necessary step. Although Hamas said it viewed the proposal “positively,” it also added conditions that the United States called unacceptable.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also expressed disappointment with Netanyahu's comments and their effect on negotiations to end the conflict.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu's latest statement confirms that, unfortunately, this plan will not be implemented,” he said in Luxembourg ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

“I am worried, I am much more worried, every day the crises boil over,” he added, citing fears that border clashes between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah could escalate into all-out war. “The risk that this war will affect southern Lebanon and spread is also greater every day. »

Concern in Europe about the war's expansion was further underlined when German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the same event that it was “absolutely important” that a ceasefire be reached. in Gaza. She urged Hamas to “finally accept” a deal. Baerbock, who called the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border “more than worrying,” said she would travel to the Middle East and that “further escalation would be a catastrophe for everyone in the region.”

Humanitarian agency Save the Children also joined the chorus of those calling for an end to the war in Gaza, saying on Monday that a ceasefire is “desperately” needed.

More than 20,000 children are estimated to be missing in Gaza, according to a report released Monday by the organization. The report notes that the young people would be “lost, missing, detained, buried under rubble or in mass graves”.

At least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated from their families, according to the report. He noted that this figure had been worsened by the Israeli attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah, which “increased pressure” on families and communities inside the enclave.

Current conditions in Gaza make it “almost impossible” to collect and verify information, the report said. But it is estimated that around 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble and an unknown number are in mass graves.

Other children, the report said, were “victims of enforced disappearance,” including an unknown number who were reportedly detained and transferred out of Gaza – with their relatives unaware of their fate.

Here's what else to know

The World Health Organization said it helped transfer five children in need of medical care – four cancer patients and one patient with second-degree burns – from al-Ahli Hospital to the Nasser Medical Complex. They will receive care at this hospital in Khan Younis until they can leave Gaza, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet accompanied by a video of the young patients boarding the an ambulance. More than 10,000 people need to be medically evacuated out of Gaza, he said.

Violent clashes broke out in Los Angeles on Sunday as pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to block access to a synagogue. in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, according to Mayor Karen Bass. She called the violence “abhorrent” in a social media post. She ordered additional police patrols in the neighborhood and other places of worship in the city. “I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a haven for anti-Semitism and violence,” she wrote.

Britain's Labor Party said it would comply with any arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu. if the British opposition party wins the July 4 elections. Opposition Foreign Minister David Lammy made the remark in a CNN interview broadcast on Sunday. Biden has previously called the ICC warrant requests “scandalous.”

Lebanese officials took journalists and ambassadors to Beirut International Airport in a bid to refute a report that Hezbollah had weapons caches there. Speaking during the two-hour visit to Rafiq al-Hariri International Airport, Public Works Minister Ali Hamiya said Lebanon was considering taking legal action against the British Telegraph newspaper over this report. The newspaper published an article this weekend – without byline and attributed to anonymous “whistleblowers” ​​– that Hezbollah was storing weapons at the airport, sparking panic in Lebanon that the airport could be taken targeted by Israel.

At least 37,598 people have been killed and 86,032 injured in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. He does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that around 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 313 soldiers have been killed since its military operations in Gaza began.

Susannah George contributed to this report.