Ben-Gvir to Netanyahu: 'Time to go in with full force' into Gaza
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Far-right Israeli minister Ben-Gvir urges full-scale Gaza invasion as Hamas reviews the US-backed ceasefire plan over unmet humanitarian demands.
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Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a weekly cabinet meeting in occupied al-Quds, September 10, 2023 (AP)
In a dramatic escalation of rhetoric, Israeli far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir declared Friday that it is “time to go in with full force” in Gaza.
“Mr Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again, there are no more excuses,” Ben-Gvir wrote on his Telegram channel. “The confusion, the shuffling, and the weakness must end."
This comes although Hamas said it received the Israeli response to an American proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal and is thoroughly reviewing it, Reuters quoted Hamas official Basem Naim as saying.
Naim told the agency that "Israel's" response fails to meet any of the Palestinian "just and legitimate demands."
"We have already missed too many opportunities. It is time to go in with full force, without blinking, to destroy and kill Hamas to the last one," Ben-Gvir insisted.
The far-right minister is speaking of "too many opportunities missed" with a death toll exceeding 54,000 in the Gaza Strip, 123,492 injured, looming famine, and a collapsed healthcare system.
The White House said Thursday that US President Donald Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff had submitted a new ceasefire proposal to Hamas, claiming “Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas,” according to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
While the US maintains the proposal was approved by "Israel", no official confirmation has been made by the latter.
Hamas: New offer fails to meet basic demands
On Thursday, Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim stated the revised version of the truce offer “means the continuation of killing and famine... and does not meet any of our people's demands, foremost among them halting the war.”
Despite rejecting the proposal in its current form, Naim emphasized that Hamas leadership is “studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility.”
A source close to the group told Agence-France Presse (AFP) the updated offer was “a retreat” from a previous framework that included an American commitment to permanent ceasefire negotiations.
The source added that the original version had won tentative approval from Hamas last week.
According to two sources familiar with the talks, the latest offer involves a 60-day ceasefire, extendable to 70 days, and the release of five living captives and nine bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week.
A second exchange, mirroring the first in scale, would follow in the second week.
However, the sources confirmed that Hamas had previously agreed to a timeline where the second exchange would take place in the final week of the truce, not the second, highlighting a major shift in sequencing that has fueled suspicions and mistrust.
