‘We Fought To Achieve Our Aims’: Netanyahu As Israel’s Government Approves Gaza Ceasefire Deal
Israeli government on Thursday officially approved a US-brokered ceasefire resolution with Hamas, paving the way for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and marking a significant step toward ending the nearly two-year-long war. Speaking at a late-night government meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the “momentous development,” declaring that Israel was on the verge of achieving its central war aim of returning all hostages.”In the last two years, we’ve fought to achieve our war aims. And a central one of these war aims is to return the hostages.
All of the hostages, the living and the dead. And we’re about to achieve that,” Netanyahu stated before his cabinet voted to approve the deal. The resolution passed with a majority vote, though it faced opposition from some members of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party.The agreement requires the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to withdraw to new, agreed-upon lines inside the Gaza Strip, after which a 72-hour window will begin for Hamas to release all hostages. Netanyahu profusely thanked US President Donald Trump and his team, including senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were present at the meeting.
“We couldn’t have achieved it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team,” the Israeli leader said.The American envoys, in turn, lauded Netanyahu’s leadership. “Prime Minister Netanyahu made some very, very difficult calls, and lesser people would not have made those calls,” Witkoff said, adding that immense pressure had forced Hamas to accept the deal. Kushner also praised Netanyahu for doing a “great job in negotiations.”
Meanwhile, the White House moved to clarify the nature of US involvement in monitoring the peace plan. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refuted reports that new troops would be sent to Gaza, stating that up to 200 US personnel already stationed at CENTCOM would be tasked with monitoring the agreement alongside other international forces on the ground.
