• Source:JND
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Hamas leaders will be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip if they agree to lay down their arms. This announcement came during a cabinet meeting, where he outlined Israel's broader strategy for Gaza’s future, emphasising the need for security and stability.

“We are willing to discuss the final phase. Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to go out. We will ensure general security in the Gaza Strip and enable the implementation of the Trump plan, the voluntary immigration plan. This is the plan. We are not hiding it, we are ready to discuss it at any time,” Netanyahu stated.

Israel has also submitted a counter-proposal to a recent offer from Egyptian mediators, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a series of consultations yesterday, following a proposal received from the mediators. In recent hours, Israel transferred its counter-proposal to the mediators, in full coordination with the United States,” the statement read.

Despite ongoing negotiations, Netanyahu affirmed Israel's dual strategy of military pressure and diplomatic engagement. “We are negotiating under fire... We can see cracks beginning to appear in what the group demanded in its negotiations,” he told the cabinet.

Balancing Military Action 

Netanyahu defended Israel’s military actions, stating that they serve to weaken Hamas’s operational and governing capabilities while simultaneously creating conditions for hostage negotiations.

“It works because it acts simultaneously,” he said. “On the one hand, it crushes Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, and on the other hand, it creates the conditions for the release of our hostages.”

He reiterated Israel’s willingness to engage in negotiations: “We are ready. Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave. We will ensure general security in the Gaza Strip and enable the implementation of the Trump plan, the voluntary immigration plan.”

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Rejecting Hamas’s Claims

Netanyahu dismissed claims that Israel is not committed to securing the release of hostages, calling it a “third Hamas lie.” He accused the group of using propaganda to create internal divisions within Israel.

“This is what Hamas puts in its propaganda films in order to create division within us,” he argued.

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Acknowledging US Support

Netanyahu also expressed gratitude to the United States for its military actions against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, calling it a “big change.”

“We always value alliances,” he said. “We have an alliance with the greatest power in the world, and it stands behind us there and in other arenas without reservation, and with the full appreciation of the citizens and the government of Israel.”

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