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On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that its foe Palestinian movement Hamas did not achieve any of its demands in the ceasefire deal that ended 50 days of conflict in the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas was hit hard and got none of its demands.Hamas wanted a port and airport in Gaza, the liberation of Palestinian prisoners, the mediation of Qatar and Turkey and the payment of salaries for its employees.But it got nothing”, Netanyahu said at a press conference in Jerusalem, his first public comments since the ceasefire became effective at 16:00 GMT on Tuesday.
The conflict has claimed the lives of 2,143 Palestinians, and according to the UN, over 70% of them are civilians.
“Hamas has not suffered such a defeat since its creation. We destroyed attack tunnels, killed nearly 1,000 enemy combatants, including senior officials in the movement, destroyed thousands of rockets and hundreds of command posts”, Netanyahu said.
Both parties had put down their arms on Tuesday, with Israel agreeing to lift restrictions on the flow of goods and movement of people in and out of the Palestinian enclave, and allow for fishing boats to travel up to six nautical miles offshore.
However, both sides have not yet agreed on other issues, like the release of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel in exchange for handing over the remains of Israeli soldiers killed during fighting.
However, negotiations on Hamas’ demand for a Gaza airport and seaport are yet to take place.
“We have agreed to help reconstruct the territory for humanitarian reasons, but only under our control.It’s still too early to know if the calm has returned in the long term. We won’t tolerate any firing on Israel, and our response will be even stronger”, he said.
