Netanyahu says ‘No ceasefire until Hamas provides hostage list’

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a first-stage ceasefire agreement with Hamas would be temporary, stating that both US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump support Israel’s right to resume fighting if the second stage proves unsuccessful.

Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu emphasised that the military campaign was not over, warning that Israel would return to fighting “in new, forceful ways” if necessary.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

"We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible."

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 18, 2025

“We will not relent until all hostages are released,” Netanyahu said, claiming that Hamas was now “isolated in the battlefield” and that Israel had “significantly harmed the Iranian axis”.

The prime minister also asserted that Israel had “changed the entire face of the Middle East”.

The conflict, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage, has claimed more than 46,700 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Israel has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war. 

According to Israel, 94 hostages remain in captivity, with 34 presumed dead. Four additional Israelis were abducted before the war, two of whom are deceased.

Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.