Body of another dead Israeli soldier remains in Gaza, Israeli army says
Israel’s army said Levinson was living in the northern village of Givat Avni and served in a combat unit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include Israel’s complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza.
“In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “And leaving Hamas intact.”
“I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
Since that deal ended Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure to secure the release of the 136 hostages who remain in captivity.
UN chief condemns Israel with over 25,000 Palestinians dead in Gaza
Netanyahu also took a stronger line on the issue of Palestinian statehood than previously.
“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River,” he said.
Netanyahu appeared on Saturday to push reject Biden’s remarks about Palestinian statehood after the war against Hamas in Gaza ends as the two men do not see eye-to-eye on Palestinians having a state, a solution Biden has advocated to achieve long-term peace.
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In the statement on Sunday, Netanyahu repeated that he would insist upon “full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan”.
Netanyahu said he faced down “international and internal pressures”, to change this position.
“My insistence is what prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have posed an existential danger to Israel,” Netanyahu said.
The militants seized about 250 hostages during the attack. Israel says around 132 remain in Gaza, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground offensive since then have killed at least 25,105 people in Gaza, mostly women, children and adolescents, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Additional reporting by Reuters