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Netanyahu says reaffirmed hostages release, Hamas defeat in Trump talks / Photo: Jim WATSON - AFP
Netanyahu says reaffirmed hostages release, Hamas defeat in Trump talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he discussed efforts to release hostages held in Gaza and the ongoing military campaign to defeat Hamas during talks at the White House with US President Donald Trump.
The meeting on Tuesday was the second in 24 hours between the two leaders, as Trump intensified pressure on Netanyahu to reach a deal that could end what he called the "tragedy" of the war in Gaza.
In a statement, Netanyahu said he reaffirmed Israel's objectives during the talks.
"We focused on the efforts to release our hostages," he said.
"We are not relenting, even for a moment, and this is made possible due to the military pressure by our heroic soldiers.
"The release of all of our hostages -- the living and the deceased, and the elimination of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, thereby ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel."
Netanyahu said military pressure remained essential, though it had come at a high cost, including the deaths of five Israeli soldiers Tuesday in northern Gaza.
Trump has kept up strong US support for Israel, especially over the recent Iran-Israel war but has also been stepping up the pressure to end what he calls the "hell" in Gaza.
The US leader's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Tuesday he was hopeful of a deal between Israel and Hamas, who are holding indirect talks in Qatar that he will join later this week.
But Qatar, a mediator alongside Egypt and the United States, has said more time was needed for negotiations for a breakthrough.
In the latest violence, Gaza civil defence on Wednesday said 20 people -- including six children -- were killed in two Israeli air strikes overnight on a tent housing displaced people in Khan Yunis and a camp in the north of the Palestinian territory.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Of 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,575 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.
A.Desjardins--SMC
