By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Ben-Gvir has threatened to bring down the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over any ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has urged an end to Tel Aviv’s involvement in ceasefire negotiations with the Palestinian Resistance as well as the halt of electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip.

“Working to stop the negotiations with Hamas, Ben-Gvir said on X on Wednesday. “A country that murders six hostages in cold blood does not negotiate with the murderers but stops the negotiations, stops supplying them with fuel and electricity, and crushes them until they give up.”

פועל כדי להפסיק המו"מ עם החמאס. מדינה שרוצחים לה שישה חטופים בדם קר לא מנהלת משא ומתן עם הרוצחים אלא עוצרת את המשא ומתן, מפסיקה להעביר להם דלק וחשמל, וכותשת אותם עד הכרעתם. המשך המו"מ רק מדרבן אותם לייצר עוד ועוד טרור גם מיהודה ושומרון. pic.twitter.com/L0T1E8No9T

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 4, 2024

He said continuing the negotiations “only spurs them to produce more and more terror,” adding “also from Judea and Samaria,” referring to the occupied West Bank.

Ben-Gvir has threatened to bring down the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over any ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Status of Captives

Last week, the Israeli army recovered the bodies of six Israeli captives found inside a tunnel in southern Gaza.

The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas said in a statement that the detainees were killed in the ongoing Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.

According to an anonymous Israeli official cited by the Israeli news website Ynet, three of the captives whose bodies were listed to be retrieved as part of the ceasefire agreement of July 2.

Captives’ Lives at Risk without Agreement with Hamas – Israeli Army Warns

Before the discovery of the six bodies, Israel had claimed that 107 prisoners were still held in Gaza, including several who had died.

Hamas had previously stated that dozens of detainees were killed by Israeli bombings across the Strip during the 11-month genocidal war.

Israel estimates that over 100 captives are still held by Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire as well as allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

The discovery of the six bodies has led to increased protests in Israel, with growing accusations against Netanyahu for obstructing prisoner exchange and ceasefire negotiations.

Increasing Death Toll

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,861 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,398 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

‘Horrifying Civilian Death Toll’ in Gaza – UN Reiterates Call for Ceasefire

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, Anadolu)