Netanyahu vows not to accept ceasefire request until Hamas releases all hostages

The United States secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, is in Jordan in a bid to contain the war in the Gaza Strip, after a trip to Israel on Friday in which he appealed for “humanitarian pauses” in fighting to allow more aid into the territory.

As the war on Hamas in Gaza risks inflaming the region, Blinken spoke of “solidarity” with Israel, which suffered a terror attack on 7 October by Hamas militants, but pushed for a pause in Israel’s military operation to let in deliveries of badly needed food, water, and medicine.

Any pause would also allow for time to facilitate hostage negotiations and to let more people exit Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.

Yet soon after the meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said any ceasefire would be contingent on the release of the over 200 hostages abducted in the attacks by Hamas that killed at least 1,400. “I have made clear that we are continuing forcefully and that Israel refuses a temporary cease-fire that does not include the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

Blinken is seeking to hold talks in Amman, Jordan, with the foreign ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as Palestinian representatives, Jordan’s foreign ministry said.

The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, has seen over 9,200 people killed, provoking outrage in the United States and around the world.

Blinken is expected to say that Washington supports the resumption of essential services and measures to ensure that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced outside of Gaza, as well as reaffirming the American commitment setting the conditions for lasting peace in the region, including establishing of a Palestinian state.

Israel used at least two 2,000 pound bombs during an airstrike on Tuesday on Jabaliya, a dense area just north of Gaza City, where dozens of civilians were killed and hundreds wounded in the strike.

Israel said it was targeting a Hamas commander and fighters, as well as the network of  underground  tunnels used by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, to hide weapons and fighters.

Israel’s use of such bombs, the second largest type in its arsenal, is not uncommon, and the size is generally the largest that most militaries use on a regular basis. They can be used to target underground infrastructure, but their deployment in a dense and heavily populated area like Jabaliya has raised questions of proportionality — whether Israel’s intended targets justify the civilian death toll and destruction its strikes cause.