‘Netanyahu Labels Hamas Ceasefire Talks as ‘Israel’s Call to Surrender”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict, likening such calls for a pause in the fighting to a demand for the Israeli side to surrender.

Israeli forces have carried out extensive airstrikes and limited ground assaults inside the Gaza Strip after Hamas gunmen breached the Israel–Gaza barrier on Oct. 7 and proceeded to kill hundreds of Israeli citizens.

“Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7,” the Israeli prime minister said in English remarks during a Monday press conference. “Calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bible says that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war.”

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Calls to halt the fighting between Israel and Hamas have spread throughout the international community. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a non-binding resolution last week for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas; 120 nations voted in favor of that UNGA resolution, while 14 nations voted against it and 45 others abstained from voting.

During his Monday press remarks, Mr. Netanyahu said the United States would not have agreed to calls for a ceasefire after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 or the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Today, we draw a line between the forces of civilization and the forces of barbarism. It is a time for everyone to decide where they stand. Israel will stand against the forces of barbarism until victory,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “I hope and pray that civilized nations everywhere will back this fight, because Israel’s fight is your fight. Because if Hamas and Iran’s axis of evil win—you will be their next target.”

Humanitarian Conditions in Gaza

Following the Oct. 7 attacks, the Israeli military surrounded the Gaza Strip and restricted the flow of food, water, electricity, and fuel into the confined territory. Israel has warned civilians in the Gaza Strip to move south, and has allowed some limited humanitarian aid to enter the strip in recent days.