RT News - October 24 2023 (09:00 MSK)
RTOct 31, 2023
Netanyahu Rules Out Temporary Cease-Fire as IDF Surrounds Gaza City
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Image copyright: Amir Levy/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief televised statement before the start of Shabbat that he has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that there will be no temporary cease-fire in Gaza until Hamas releases all hostages.
Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday to push for short pauses in the fighting in specific areas to allow aid deliveries and other humanitarian activities amid threats of a wider war and mounting civilian casualties.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Though sympathy for Palestinian civilians is understandable since they are, to some extent, victims of their abhorrent leadership, an immediate cease-fire would neither be reasonable nor right. Israel will continue to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza as much as tactically possible but Tel Aviv must show strength so as to neutralize terrorists from Hamas and prevent further attacks from other Iranian proxies.
Pro-Palestine narrative
By urging for a "humanitarian pause" instead of calling for a complete cessation of hostilities, the US is intentionally aggravating the suffering of Gaza's civilian population. Rather than taking concrete steps to avoid an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Blinken has engaged in inconsequential talks in Tel Aviv at a time when Israel has clearly stated that a cease-fire wasn't an option.
