Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will end when Hamas leaders are killed in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday the end of the war in the Gaza Strip it will not end until the Hamas leaders are dead, which, according to him, “will take months, not years”, despite renewed fighting in the northern and central areas previously under military rule.

“Our goal is complete victory over Hamas. We will kill the leaders of Hamas, so we must continue to act in all areas of the Gaza Strip. The war must not end before that date. It will take time, months, (but) not years,” the president said at a meeting of his party, the Likud coalition.

Family members of the 136 people who, after 122 days of war, are still sequestered in the Gaza Strip, were unable to attend this meeting, local media reported, despite their access having been granted in previous meetings.

Behind closed doors, Netanyahu took credit for the release of 110 hostages in November, telling members of his party that he “will continue to act on this issue.” but that Hamas is trying to impose demands that it will not accept.

“The key to the freedom (of the hostages) should be similar to that of the previous agreement,” explained the president, who repeated it “it will not be done at any price.”

In the November exchange, a total of 105 hostages were freed (after the previous five). in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisonersmany of whom are in administrative detention without trial.

But according to rumors coming from the latest negotiations, and although the draft agreement has not been made public, the Palestinian factions They would now demand the release of around 100 or 150 hostagesincluding high-profile prisoners such as Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences.

No concessions

Already on January 30, Netanyahu had announced, while new negotiations were taking place in Paris under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, that he would not have freed “thousands of terrorists” nor withdraw its troops from the Strip, another of Hamas’ demands, until “absolute victory”.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip increased today, after 113 victims in the last 24 hours. 27,478 dead and at least 66,835 injuredaccording to the latest data released by the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas.

The Israeli army confirmed this Fighting has intensified in the north and center of the Stripafter Israel concentrated its offensive on Khan Yunis (south), to prevent “Hamas from rebuilding its capabilities” in these areas, a military statement said today.

During a raid last week in the city of Gaza, blown to smithereens after months of bombing, and in the Al Shati refugee camp, both in the north of the enclave, the army ensured having killed “hundreds of terrorists and arrested dozens”.

“This is an area that initially took three divisions and three days to reach. Now, two combat teams have reached this area in an hour and a half,” explained in a statement the commander of the 162nd division, Itzik Cohen, who operates in the North.

The presence of troops in these areas was also felt by the overwhelmed medical teams operating in extremely dangerous conditions, when they are not directly attacked by soldiers like at Al Ama hospitall (south), every time they try to move to help the wounded.

In the center of the enclave, at least four civilians were killed and dozens injured in a combined aircraft and artillery attack on a house in the Al Hakar neighborhood, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

In another attack on a house in the Al Zawaida area, north of Deir Al Balah, an Israeli air raid also killed eight Palestinians, most of them children, according to local medical sources; in a war that will continue to cause the deaths of more civilians.