Netanyahu: 'There won’t be a ceasefire without the return of the hostages'

Israel won’t agree to any form of ceasefire in the Gaza war without the return of all the hostages held there, estimated at more than 240, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Ramon Air Force base Sunday.

He explained that he is delivering this message both to Israel’s allies and enemies.

“There is one thing we will not do: There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages,” Netanyahu told the pilots. “This should be completely removed from the lexicon,” he added.

It’s a stance that has put him at odds with the United States, whose Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in the region this weekend arguing for the importance of a mechanism for a series of humanitarian pauses. Qatar, which has attempted to mediate a deal for hostages’ release has also stressed the significance of such a step.

The issue of how best to rescue the hostages is critical because, according to an Israeli diplomatic source, many of them are still alive.

Israel fears that a pause will become a de facto ceasefire. The source said that the pressure of an IDF ground campaign may press Hamas to make a deal.

“Initially nothing was seen in that direction,” the source said. Now, “we see something, but it hasn’t matured yet.”

The source said that any ceasefire understanding, would in fact be temporary, more akin to a pause. This pause could only happen, the source said, in exchange for the release of the hostages and amid a clear understanding that Israel would continue to “work to defeat Hamas.”

At the Ramon Base, Netanyahu underscored the importance of ousting Hamas from Gaza, explaining that there was no alternative.

“We say this to our friends and to our enemies. We will simply continue [to battle Hamas] until we defeat them. We have no alternative. I think that we all understand this today,” he said.

Qatar calls for 'period of calm' in Gaza

Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that without a “period of calm” in Gaza its mediators would not be able to secure the release of Israeli hostages held there.

Majed Al Ansari, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters, “Any hostage release has to be linked to a period of calm that allows for the hostage release to work, which is something we have not seen for a while,”The Gulf state of Qatar has, in coordination with the US, led mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials over the release of hostages.

Qatar’s prime minister said on Sunday that the negotiations were at risk of failing because of Israel’s attacks and misinformation circulating about the talks.

“The process of this mediation is at risk in light of the spread of false reports and leaks about the negotiations, in addition to the complexity of the field situation due to the practices of the Israeli occupation army,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, said at a press conference with his French counterpart in Doha.

Qatar, which has faced criticism over its hosting of top Hamas officials and a Hamas political office, said the group’s presence in Doha serves as a “channel for peace.”

“It is a channel that is used for the mediation of the release of hostages, the exit of foreign nationals, and in various aspects of the mediation that is taking place. So I don’t foresee any reason to close that channel now,” Al Ansari said.

Al Ansari spoke out as Hamas reported that close to 10,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza war-related violence as the IDF pushed forward with its aerial and ground campaign. Its closure of the passages into Gaza pending the release of the hostages has meant that limited humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza since the start of the war on October 7.

Hamas’s placement of its infrastructure in civilian areas has made it particularly difficult for Israel to avoid civilian casualties. Hamas has also attempted to divert humanitarian assistance and according to Israel, fired on Palestinians attempting to flee.

Efforts were underway on Sunday to resume evacuations of foreign nationals and injured Gazans through the Rafah crossing to Egypt, suspended since Saturday after a deadly attack on an ambulance, Egyptian, US, and Qatari officials said.

The Rafah crossing to Egypt’s Sinai peninsula is the only exit point from Gaza not controlled by Israel. Aid trucks were still able to travel into Gaza, two Egyptian sources said.

Evacuations began on Wednesday under an internationally brokered deal. More than 300 Americans have left Gaza, but some remain, Jonathan Finer, deputy national security advisor, said.

The war was sparked by a Hamas infiltration of southern Israel on October 7, during which the terror group killed over 1,400 people, fired rockets into Israel, and seized over 240 captives.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Blinken that there should be an immediate ceasefire and that aid should be allowed into Gaza when the two met in Ramallah on Sunday, according to PA spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

Pope Francis made an urgent plea for a halt to the conflict in Gaza on Sunday, calling for the resumption of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and help for those injured in order to ease the “very grave” situation.

“I keep thinking about the grave situation in Palestine and Israel where many people have lost their lives. I pray you to stop in the name of God, cease the fire,” he said, speaking to crowds in St. Peter’s Square after his weekly Angelus prayer.

“I hope that everything will be done to prevent the conflict from widening, that the injured will be rescued and aid will arrive to the population of Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is very grave,” he said.

The pontiff renewed his calls for a ceasefire and for the release of hostages taken by Hamas, focusing on the children, who he said “must return to their families.”

“Let’s think about the children, all the children involved in this war, like in Ukraine and in other conflicts, their future is being killed,” he added.

Francis, 86, has already called for the creation of humanitarian corridors and has said a two-state solution was needed to put an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Sunday reiterated calls for an “immediate humanitarian truce” in Gaza, which she said must be able to lead to a ceasefire, adding that too many civilians have died in Israeli strikes.

Colonna added that an international humanitarian conference, to be hosted by France on November 9, will cover respect for international law, and basic needs such as health, water, energy, and food, and will call for concrete action to aid civilians in Gaza.

Blinken, during a brief stop in Cyprus on Sunday, discussed a Cypriot proposal to establish a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, Cypriot officials said.

Cyprus, the closest European Union member state to the Middle East, has been talking to its Middle East neighbors and EU partners about establishing the corridor which would be exclusively used for humanitarian aid.

Earlier Sunday, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said the modalities of how aid could be delivered were still being worked out.

“Ships cannot approach the sea area off Gaza so we are talking to the United Nations which will handle the aid and not Hamas,” Christodoulides told reporters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the situation in Gaza and the need for an urgent ceasefire there with his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in separate calls on Sunday, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Turkey also hosts members of Hamas, which unlike the United States, the European Union, and some Gulf states it does not view as a terrorist organization.

Fidan exchanged views with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry concerning steps that can be taken to “stop attacks targeting the civilian population in Gaza” and to achieve an urgent ceasefire, the source added.

Fidan and Shoukry also discussed efforts to guarantee the unimpeded and continuous provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the source said.