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Netanyahu asks Israel’s government to back Hamas hostage deal

  • Though the agreement is said to include a four or five day ceasefire, the PM vowed that the war would continue until Israel achieved all its goals
  • Netanyahu says the intervention of US President Joe Biden had helped to improve the deal so that it included more hostages for fewer concessions

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Families of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip protest outside the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked his government on Tuesday to back a deal to clear the way for the release of some of the hostages that Palestinian Hamas militants took to the Gaza Strip during an October 7 assault on Israel.

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In a recorded message at the start of a government meeting, Netanyahu vowed the war would continue until Israel achieved all its goals. A US official had said the deal will include a four- or five-day ceasefire, the first pause in six weeks of an Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Speaking after presenting the still-undisclosed details of the deal to his war cabinet and the wider national security cabinet, Netanyahu told his government it was a difficult decision but the right decision and would enable Israel to go on fighting Hamas.

He said the intervention of US President Joe Biden had helped to improve the deal so that it included more hostages for fewer concessions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, in October. Photo: Xinhua
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, in October. Photo: Xinhua

In an earlier briefing, chief military spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “The military will know how to maintain its military achievements in Gaza while preparing for the next stages of the war.”

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