Israel is ready to accept a "temporary ceasefire" that would allow the release of hostages in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said tonight, reiterating that his army would control "the entire Gaza Strip."
"If there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free the hostages, we will be ready," Netanyahu said at a news conference in Jerusalem, adding that 20 of the 58 hostages still in Gaza were "certainly alive."
Netanyahu added that "the entire Gaza Strip will be under the control of the Israeli army" at the end of a major offensive launched on Saturday with the aim of freeing hostages and destroying the Palestinian Hamas movement.
However, "we must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to maintain our operational freedom of action," Netanyahu said, as the escalation of the conflict and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid after two and a half months of a complete blockade sparked a wave of international condemnation.
Netanyahu said Israel likely killed Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar, Reuters reports.
The elimination of Sinwar was the target of an Israeli attack on a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this month, but his death has not yet been confirmed by either Israel or Hamas, the British agency reminds.
Netanyahu said Israeli forces had "fiercely attacked" Hamas positions across Gaza.
At least 82 people killed in Gaza in Israeli attacks
At least 82 people were killed today, including several women and a week-old baby, in fresh Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, despite growing international anger over the Israeli offensive.
These data were reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health and local hospitals.
Israel began allowing dozens of trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza yesterday, but it has not yet reached the Palestinians, who desperately need it.
Jens Larke, a spokesman for the United Nations humanitarian agency, said no truckloads had been taken from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, the Israeli border crossing with southern Gaza.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that although aid had entered Gaza, aid workers were unable to take it to distribution points after the Israeli military forced them to reload the supplies onto separate trucks and the workers ran out of time to do so.
Israel said trucks entered Gaza this morning, but it is not known whether the aid will move deeper into Gaza for distribution.
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