Israel's Netanyahu Rules Out Cease-Fire With Hamas

Facts

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a cease-fire with Hamas on Monday. Comparing the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas to the Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11 attacks on the US, Netanyahu said Israel was justified in retaliating, stating that it would wage war against Hamas 'until victory.'¹
• 'Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen,' Netanyahu said. He added: 'The Bible says that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war. A war for our common future. Today we draw a line between the forces of civilization and the forces of barbarism. It is a time for everyone to decide where they stand.'¹
• The comments come amid increasing calls for an immediate cease-fire, namely over concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza where over 8K people have reportedly now been killed. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees said 'an immediate humanitarian cease-fire has become a matter of life and death for millions,' accusing Israel of 'collective punishment' of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians.²
• Despite those calls, John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman for the White House, said on Monday that the US does not support a cease-fire. 'We do not believe that a cease-fire is the right answer right now,' he said. 'We believe that a cease-fire right now benefits Hamas, and Hamas is the only one that would gain from that right now as Israel continues to prosecute their operations against Hamas leadership.'³
• However, Kirby added that US Pres. Joe Biden got a commitment from Netanyahu that Israel would significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Currently, less than 50 aid trucks cross the Rafah border with Egypt on a daily basis; before the war, Gaza was reliant on more than 500 aid trucks a day.³
• Meanwhile, Israel's ground offensive in Gaza continued into Tuesday, with air, sea, and ground attacks reported in Gaza's northwest as well as on its main north-south highway. Israel also continued a march towards Gaza City in two directions; Hamas militants reportedly responded with anti-tank missiles and machine gun fire.⁴

Sources: ¹FOX News, ²Associated Press, ³ABC News and ⁴Reuters.

Narratives

• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Times of Israel. Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas. Israel will never surrender to Hamas after what it did on Oct. 7. In fact, the Hamas terror organization needs to be eradicated so it can never commit these types of atrocities again.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Associated Press. After 23 days of unrelenting Israeli airstrikes — which Gaza has had to endure under an Israeli blockade that's left it without food, clean drinking water, medicine, and electricity — millions of people are on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. A cease-fire is needed immediately.

Predictions