Jerusalem, 19 October (H.S.): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a hardline stance on Saturday, declaring that the war in Gaza will only conclude after the complete disarmament of Hamas, and that the vital Rafah border crossing will remain closed until the remains of all deceased Israeli hostages are returned.

In a direct address, Netanyahu outlined the non-negotiable terms for a final end to the conflict, stating that the second phase of the current ceasefire agreement necessitates the full demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip.

When that is successfully completed, hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way, then the war will end, he warned.Simultaneously, the Prime Minister’s office announced that the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s sole gateway to the outside world not controlled by Israel, would stay sealed until further notice.

This decision directly refutes earlier statements from the Palestinian embassy in Egypt and even some Israeli officials that the crossing might reopen as soon as Sunday or Monday.

The reopening is now explicitly conditional upon Hamas fulfilling its obligation to return the bodies of all 28 deceased hostages as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.

The announcements came as Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, prepared to hand over the remains of two more hostages on Saturday night, which would bring the total number of bodies returned to 12. The exchange of hostage bodies and the flow of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing are central pillars of the fragile, US-brokered truce.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar