Israeli PM committed to military goals as cease-fire talks resume

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Joe Biden on Thursday that a delegation of Israeli officials was continuing cease-fire negotiations with Hamas, according to a statement from his office. Netanyahu told Biden that Israel remained committed to achieving all its military objectives. In previous statements, Netanyahu’s office has clarified that it seeks to both return all its hostages to Israel and eliminate the Gaza-based terrorist group.

Didn’t cease-fire talks already fall apart weeks ago? Earlier this year, Biden revealed a three-phase cease-fire proposal that he said Israel had authored and that negotiators had sent to Hamas. In transcribed remarks on May 31, Biden noted that not everyone in Israel approved of the proposal while insisting that Hamas was the only remaining party that needed to agree to it. But just days later, in early June, Netanyahu said that Israel had not agreed to a cease-fire deal that did not allow it to eliminate Hamas. Days after that, several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Poland, all joined the United States in calling Israel and Hamas to stop fighting.

Hamas ultimately rejected the cease-fire proposal. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his frustration with that decision, accusing Hamas of prolonging the war. Before Hamas rejected the proposal, Israel and several other countries in the region had agreed to it, Blinken said. Even so, Blinken did not explicitly confirm that Hamas had rejected the cease-fire, even when reporters asked about it.

What’s going on with Israel’s response to Hezbollah? Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that it would restore security on its northern border with Lebanon, which hosts the terrorist group Hezbollah. “Whoever harms us will pay the price,” he said. He acknowledged that it would be a while before Israeli citizens displaced by Hezbollah attacks could return to their homes. The remarks followed an escalation in conflict with Hezbollah earlier this week.