Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi said on Friday that Tel Aviv will not agree to a ceasefire without a mass release of hostages held by Hamas.
Hanegbi added, "Even if a ceasefire is agreed upon for the release of the hostages on a large scale, it will be limited and short-term because after that we will continue to advance towards our war goals."
The head of the National Security Council says that the war government is united in its strategy to move forward with the release of the hostages, noting that the ministers believe that this will only happen if Hamas feels the pressure.
Hanegbi rejected the Qatari mediators' claim that the Israeli army's ground incursion was complicating the talks, according to what the Times of Israel reported .
He reported that in talks with US President Joe Biden and other world leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withstood calls to agree to a ceasefire and a humanitarian pause without releasing the hostages.
He continued, saying, “We are on the 42nd day of the war, and we did not agree for the Israeli army to stop its advance even for a single minute,” adding that, nevertheless, Israel agreed to four-hour humanitarian pauses in different neighborhoods in northern Gaza every day to allow the Palestinians to head south through the corridors. humanitarian aid established by the Israeli army.
He stated that the decision to send fuel to the Gaza Strip was taken to prevent the spread of diseases and epidemics.
A member of the emergency government and former Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, announced that the War Administration Council decided, with the approval of all its members, to supply international organizations in Gaza with 60,000 liters of fuel in the next 48 hours.
He said that the approval for the transfer process came once at the request of international parties for the purpose of operating desalination and sewage facilities, and for the additional needs of institutions operating in the southern Gaza Strip.
He stressed that the matter is not about changing the strategy, but rather about providing a specific response that serves the continuation of the fighting that the Israeli army is waging. The entire policy will be discussed in the Political and Security Council of Ministers when this is done.
Russian Embassy in Bern: Swiss neutrality has become part of the past
The Russian Embassy in Bern considered that Switzerland's joining the group of countries calling for Russia to be prosecuted over the military operation in Ukraine means that its neutrality has become part of the past.
Switzerland recently announced that it has joined the group of countries calling for the establishment of a special court in The Hague to try Russia for its role in the conflict in Ukraine.
A statement published on the website of the Russian Embassy in Bern said: We consider this step as an additional confirmation that Swiss neutrality has become part of history. What we see is a biased position and diplomacy that manipulates “principles” depending on the political situation.
The embassy adds how Switzerland could act in this way and then offer itself to play the role of "mediation" or "representation of interests" and other "good offices".
Against this background, the claims of Swiss diplomacy to be a role model in adhering to international law are surprising.
The embassy's press office added: The question that arises is: Where was the Swiss diplomacy calling for "accountability for responsibility" and the formation of international courts, when the US army destroyed Iraq twice with impunity, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians?
Where was it when NATO bombed Yugoslav cities (1999)? Where was she when the international coalition bombed Libya (2011), and buried under the rubble thousands of civilians who were supposed to be under protection under United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1973?
Security Council to “condemn” the Hamas movement and ensure “Israel’s security”
Switzerland certainly has the right to decide to change its position of neutrality towards conflicts in the world, and it can also interpret the concept of neutrality in its own way, but it should not be surprised when other countries stop taking this “neutrality” seriously.
Switzerland has committed to implementing all European sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation since February 24, 2022. Bern has frozen $8.1 billion in Russian assets as part of the sanctions.
Swiss bank Credit Suisse froze more than a third of Russian assets registered in Switzerland - 17.6 billion francs (more than $19.7 billion).