Asked about the Israeli public’s fears that the ceasefire would collapse, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has insisted that advancing to the second phase of the ceasefire was contingent on Israel’s military goals, AFP reports.
“First of all, we are committed to release all our hostages,” he said. “But it is clear… that to move from the first phase to the second phase is not something automatic.”
“To do it automatically is to accept Hamas’s wishes and Hamas’s demands. We have objectives to achieve, and we will negotiate that… in good faith,” he added, but “it is not automatic”.
