"We're going to defeat these monsters and get our hostages back": Netanyahu on Gaza talks

Washington [US], July 11 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed hope that a hostage release deal with Hamas may be concluded in the coming days, adding that the potential agreement could trigger a 60-day ceasefire during which Israel and Hamas might negotiate an end to the conflict, according to The Times of Israel.
"We think we can bring it to completion," said Netanyahu. "So I wouldn't tell you that we have a war goal that is unachievable. We're going to defeat these monsters and get our hostages back."
"I hope we can complete it in a few days," he told Newsmax's Greta Van Susteren in an interview before flying back to Israel while indirect talks continued in Qatar amid signs of deadlock.
"We'll probably have a 60-day ceasefire. Get the first batch out and then use the 60 days to try to negotiate an end to this," he said on the last day of a four-day visit in which he met US President Donald Trump twice. "And this could end tomorrow, today, if Hamas lays down its arms."
Netanyahu granted three interviews to US media during his trip, but no interviews to the Israeli press, The Times of Israel reported.
Amid reports that the Trump administration does not intend to allow Israel to resume fighting in Gaza after a potential ceasefire, Netanyahu promised earlier Thursday that Israel would return to war if Hamas does not give in.
"We were told, 'You will not return to war,' after the first ceasefire, and we did return," said Netanyahu in a video statement. "We were told 'You will not resume your fight,' after the second ceasefire, and we did. Now they're saying 'You will not continue fighting' after the third ceasefire. Do I need to say more?"
After Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and Jerusalem declared war on the terrorist organization, the sides agreed to ceasefires in November 2023 and January 2025.
Two sources told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that the Trump administration has assured mediators that it does not intend to allow Jerusalem to go back to fighting against Hamas in Gaza following a 60-day ceasefire, even if this is not explicitly included in the text of the deal being negotiated in Washington and Qatar.
The issue of whether Israel will be able to restart its military campaign after the proposed 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living and 18 dead hostages is one of the main sticking points in talks, which have failed to produce a breakthrough even as leaders continue to express some optimism, The Times of Israel said.
However, signs that negotiations remain stalled persisted on Thursday. Hamas said it opposes any ceasefire deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza, citing disagreements over troop withdrawal and the free flow of aid into Gaza, along with demands for "real guarantees" for a lasting truce.
In his Thursday video, Netanyahu said Israel is willing to discuss the end of the war in Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire, should Hamas and Israel come to an agreement.
But, he cautioned, the war will end only under Israel's conditions: "Hamas lays down its weapons, Gaza is demilitarized, Hamas no longer has any governmental or military capabilities. These are our basic conditions."
Netanyahu has made those demands throughout the war, which Hamas has repeatedly rejected.
"One way or another," said Netanyahu, "Israel's war aims will be achieved. If this can be achieved through negotiations -- that's great. If it is not achieved through negotiations in 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways; by using force, the force of our heroic army," The Times of Israel quoted him as saying, following a memorial service for two embassy employees who were murdered in May.
In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump told reporters, "We're getting very close to a deal on Gaza." That came after Netanyahu stated there was a "good chance" to reach a deal, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he thought an agreement to end 21 months of fighting was "achievable."
Netanyahu also addressed criticism about how long the war has lasted. "First of all, this is a war zone that no army in the world has faced," he said. "And thanks to the heroism of the fighters, thanks to the sacrifice of the fallen, thanks to the creativity, we dismantled most of Hamas's military capabilities. But not all of them. There are still thousands of fighters there with weapons."
The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu reiterated Israel's dual approach: "We want to act, again, with a combination of diplomacy and military force, and military force if diplomacy doesn't work, to complete the mission."
Regarding the order in which hostages will be released, Netanyahu said he would prefer to get everyone out at once, but "we are dealing with a cruel terrorist organization. Of course, we would like to rescue everyone, and from our point of view, they are all humanitarian. I want to rescue everyone in one fell swoop."
"Here we are dealing with two stages, but the choice is not always ours. We will do everything to maximize this release in the best possible way. Not everything is in our hands."
Netanyahu told hostage families on Wednesday that Hamas will determine which hostages will be released during the 60-day truce, a source present at the Washington meeting told The Times of Israel.
The source said Netanyahu told the families that, from Israel's perspective, all hostages are considered "humanitarian" -- meaning no living captive group will be prioritised over another, given their dire conditions after 643 days in Gaza.
However, two sources told the Haaretz daily that intelligence on the hostages' conditions is being delivered to Netanyahu's office, and the political leadership will decide on the order of release.
Earlier Thursday, Netanyahu addressed a memorial service for slain embassy employees Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim at the Israeli mission in Washington.
"The agony of losing a brother is great," Netanyahu said. "The agony of losing a son is greater."
He also acknowledged Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, who lost his son in the war in Gaza.
According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu shared that he spoke about the victims with Trump. After seeing their photo, Trump reportedly said, "What a beautiful couple."
Netanyahu signed a memorial book, unveiled a plaque with a photograph of the two victims, and affixed a new mezuzah at the embassy ceremony, which Milgrim's parents and Lischinsky's siblings attended in person while his parents watched via Zoom.
Having a Jewish state "comes with a heavy cost," Netanyahu said, pledging to fight rising antisemitism amid what he described as an organized campaign.
"When we began the great return to our land," he said, "the first thing Israel did was create an army. God helps those who help themselves."
"We do not bow down. We do not surrender. We win," Netanyahu concluded.