Not Planning To Conquer, Occupy Or Govern Gaza, Says Israel; Islamic Jihad Group Releases New Hostage Video

TEL AVIV: Israel’s Prime Minister has cleared the air of the final goal of Israel's ongoing military offensive against the Palestinian terror group Hamas, saying the country is not seeking to conquer, occupy or govern the Gaza Strip after its war ends. Benjamin Netanyahu told US television outlet Fox News that a “credible force” would be needed to enter the enclave if necessary to prevent the emergence of militant threats.

"We don't seek to conquer Gaza, we don't seek to occupy Gaza, and we don't seek to govern Gaza,” he said, adding that a civilian government would be required, but that Israel would also need to ensure that an attack like that of 7 October, in which Hamas killed about 1,400 people, doesn’t happen again. "So, we have to have a credible force that, if necessary, will enter Gaza and kill the killers. Because that's what will prevent the re-emergence of a Hamas-like entity,” he said.

Netanyahu’s comments earlier this week had suggested Israel would be responsible for security in Gaza, drawing a critical response from the US.

Four-Hour Pause In Gaza War

US President Joe Biden says Israel's agreement to observe a daily, four-hour pause in its bombardment of northern Gaza to allow civilians to flee is a step in the right direction. The US will continue to talk to Israel about the length and frequency of such military pauses, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tells the BBC. He also says any future release of hostages held in Gaza would require a longer pause in the fighting to ensure their safe passage.

Hamas Releases New Hostage Video

Palestinian militant outfit Islamic Jihad in Gaza released a video on Thursday showing an elderly woman and a young boy who were among around 240 hostages seized by gunmen who attacked Israel on October 7.

In the video making rounds of the internet, the group said it was prepared to release the two — a woman in her 70s and a 13-year-old boy — for humanitarian and medical reasons once appropriate conditions were met. “We are ready to release them on humanitarian grounds when the security conditions on the ground are met,” said in the video Abu Hamza, spokesman for the group’s military wing, according to AFP.

In the video, Hanna Katsir, a woman in her 70s, is pictured sitting in a wheelchair. She was taken from kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October. The other is a young boy. Negotiations about the fate of the around 240 hostages in Gaza are intense and have been going on for weeks, and the prospect of some kind of deal to release them has moved in and out of focus, the BBC's Paul Adams says.

The publication of the hostage video comes as Israel’s military is involved in heavy fighting in the centre of Gaza City, with its troops battling Hamas in an area close to two major hospitals – Al Shifa and Al Quds. One man told the BBC he had fled under a "barrage of bullets".

There have also been clashes in the West Bank, with 14 Palestinians reported killed in an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp, according to the Palestinian health ministry. It's one of deadliest incidents of its kind in Jenin, which has been raided by Israel several times.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli forces again opened the main road out of Gaza City for several hours to allow civilians to move south, away from the heaviest fighting. Thousands have done so, mostly on foot.

India calls for 'immediate and unconditional' release of hostages

India has urged both sides to eschew violence, de-escalate the situation and create conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Palestine issue. Without naming Hamas, India also called for "immediate and unconditional" release of hostages.

Israel has been carrying out a massive military offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented and multi-pronged attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas militants on October 7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held phone conversations with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas following the escalation of the conflict.

Hamas killed around 1,400 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 220. Around 10,500 people have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive, according to the Hamas-run authorities in Gaza.