“NOT AT ANY COST”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he remained intent on sending troops into Rafah, despite international concerns for the safety of the 1.5 million civilians sheltering in Gaza’s far southern city.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was back in Israel pressing the need for a ceasefire on Wednesday, reaffirmed in discussions with Netanyahu that the US opposed an assault on Rafah.
The war started after Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,568 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Palestinian militants also took some 250 hostages on Oct 7.
Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
Hindi said on Wednesday there was “great interest from Hamas and all Palestinian resistance factions to end this insane war on the Palestinian people, which has consumed everything”.
“But it will not be at any cost.”
“As long as there is a continuation of the war, I believe that the Palestinian resistance has spoken on this issue,” he said.
“Hamas is open to any dialogue with mediators, whether Egyptian or Qatari, and is also open to all initiatives to end the war on the Palestinian people, but within very clear conditions that cannot be abandoned.”
The Palestinians, who “have endured and persevered for more than 200 days, cannot under any circumstances raise the white flag or surrender to the conditions of the Israeli enemy”, he said.
“Our dignity and honour refuse to compromise”.
