![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) in Jerusalem on January 2, 2017. Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing ahead of his expected questioning by police in a graft probe, telling his political opponents to put any "celebrations" on hold. [GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/GettyImages-630792878.jpg?fit=1194%2C800&ssl=1)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly opposes” ending the war on the besieged Gaza Strip which has claimed the lives of over 35,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
In a statement issued by his office, Netanyahu said he “strongly opposes” ending the war, adding that he has repeatedly given the negotiating team a broad mandate to release the hostages, however, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, continues to demand an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu “strongly opposes this,” said the statement, adding that “the briefs presented by the negotiating team will only strengthen Hamas’s position, harm the families, and make the release of our hostages more unlikely.”
Hamas is committed to ending the war, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the Gaza Strip, the freedom for the displaced to return to their homes and the areas from which they were forcibly removed, and the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid, within any prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 128 Israeli prisoners of war held in Gaza. Hamas said more than 70 have been killed in Israeli raids in the enclave since October. Israel has at least 9,500 Palestinians in its prisons, a large number without charge or trial.
Israel has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October. The military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.
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