Source: The Times of Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Tuesday (April 30) saying that Netanyahu told representatives of the hostages' families that "the idea of stopping the war is impossible until all the goals are achieved," according to AFP. We will enter Rafah, and with or without an agreement, we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there for total victory. ”
Netanyahu acknowledged that serious efforts had been made to reach a hostage deal, but he insisted that any agreement with Hamas would not be exchanged for a truce, and that some 200,000 Rafah civilians had been evacuated so far, where there would soon be a large-scale ground operation.
The Times of Israel reported that the family groups urged Netanyahu and Israel's National Security Adviser (National Security Council) Tzachi Hanegbi to resist international pressure and continue the current military offensive. The meeting came ahead of talks between Netanyahu and State Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who opposed the Israeli government's cessation of military operations and concessions to Hamas, while Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right finance minister in Israel's wartime cabinet, had previously threatened that Netanyahu's government would be overthrown if the Israeli army canceled its plan to attack Rafah.
It is worth noting that Netanyahu's reassurances came just hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel to try to move forward with ceasefire talks. According to Israeli media reports, Israeli representatives were scheduled to travel to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, on April 30 to participate in ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. The Hamas delegation temporarily left Cairo on the 29th to discuss the latest ceasefire plan. However, Israeli officials have told the media that Israel has decided not to send a delegation to Cairo for negotiations for the time being. Israel is currently awaiting Hamas's response to its latest ceasefire proposal and updated plan for the release of detainees, which includes a 40-day truce and the release of thousands of Palestinian detainees in exchange for Israeli detainees.
On the other hand, the wave of protests in American colleges and universities has spread, with student protests in Lebanon in the Middle East and Tunisia in North Africa. Among them, students and alumni of several Lebanese universities have demanded that the university boycott companies doing business in Israel, the first time that students have organized protests in the country since the outbreak of the new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Some students said that they were inspired by the American academic community.
In Lebanon, about 200 students at the 150-year-old American University of Beirut (AUB) waved Palestinian flags and criticized Israel's assault on Gaza. The event was approved by the university for two hours and the scope of the demonstration was limited. In addition, there were brief gatherings of students at the Lebanese American University (LAU) and some universities in Tunisia. On the streets of the Tunisian capital, there were also rallies in support of the Palestinian people.
Since the outbreak of a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, tensions have escalated through demonstrations across the United States to protest Israel's military action against the Gaza Strip and call on the US government to promote a ceasefire.
According to the New York Times and Reuters, the wave of protests has spread to universities across the United States, and more than 1,100 demonstrators have been arrested so far.
Author丨Zeng Zijin, chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News