Progress on a Gaza ceasefire remains murky

Washington: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a memorial service on Thursday for two slain Israeli Embassy staffers as he wraps up a four-day visit to Washington in which talks with President Donald Trump, White House aides and lawmakers focused on finding a path-way to a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

But as Netanyahu gets set to head back to Israel, it is unclear if there was any breakthrough on sealing a Trump- backed 60-day truce between Israel and Hamas, which the US leader believes can lead to a permanent end to the 21-month war in Gaza.

Netanyahu said in a video released Thursday that he is trying to wrap up the US-backed deal but stressed it will be “ temporary” and would be aimed at releasing the final 50 hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.

The prime minister also un- derscored that in any potential ceasefire agreement he will not budge from his fundamen- tal demand that Hamas lay down its arms and no longer have any governing or military capabilities—something the group so far has rejected.

“These are our basic conditions,” Netanyahu said. “If this can be achieved through ne- gotiations — so much the better. If it is not achieved through negotiations in 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways — by using force, the force of our heroic army.”

With his attendance at the memorial for the slain embassy staffers, Netanyahu once again sought to spotlight “antisemitic brutality” that Jews around the globe have faced as the Israeli Defense Forces have waged operations in Gaza. (AP)