RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT “ISRAELI PRIME MINISTRY HANDOUT, MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO —EDITORIAL USE ONLY — SHOTLIST JERUSALEM (MAY 21, 2025) (ISRAELI PRIME MINISTRY - RESTRICTED) 1. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SPEAKING SPEAKING (Hebrew)JERUSALEM - MAY 21 - RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT “ISRAELI PRIME MINISTRY HANDOUT, MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO —EDITORIAL USE ONLY —: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his government’s intention to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip and dismissed any agreement to end the war. “There are certainly 20 hostages still alive in Gaza and up to 38 others believed to have been killed,” he said Wednesday during a press conference at his office in West Jerusalem. More than 10,100 Palestinians meanwhile remain imprisoned in Israel under conditions described by Palestinian and Israeli rights groups as involving torture, starvation and medical neglect, according to human rights and media reports. Netanyahu said Israel would consider a temporary ceasefire solely to recover hostages. “If there is an opportunity for a temporary pause in fighting to return more hostages—I emphasize, a temporary pause—we are open to that,” he said. The Palestinian group Hamas has repeatedly expressed its readiness to release Israeli captives in a single exchange in return for an end to the war, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, instead demanding the disarmament of Palestinian resistance factions and insisting on the full reoccupation of Gaza. Israeli opposition leaders and families of hostages accuse him of prolonging the war to appease the far-right members of his coalition and to protect his own political standing. Netanyahu also claimed that a new humanitarian aid plan had been developed for Gaza in coordination with the US. He said the plan includes three phases: the immediate entry of basic food supplies for children to avert a humanitarian collapse, the establishment of food distribution points managed by American companies and secured by the Israeli military, and the creation of designated civilian evacuation zones. He also laid out his conditions for ending the war: the return of all Israeli hostages, the removal of the Hamas leadership from Gaza, and the complete disarmament of the group. Netanyahu claimed that once these goals are achieved, Israel would move to implement the so-called Trump Plan -- widely interpreted as a framework for the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza. Criticizing the Israeli prime minister, opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a recorded video on X that “Netanyahu’s statements tonight mean the occupation of Gaza for many years.” However, Lapid added that Netanyahu was lying when he claimed to be in full coordination with the US administration. He stressed that Netanyahu “has lost the sympathy of (US President) Donald Trump.” Yair Golan, the leader of the opposition center-left Democrats party, also commented on Netanyahu’s press conference via X. “I saw a performance by a lying, pressured, and obsessed man, throwing mud at everyone and refusing to take responsibility for anything,” he said. “I have two promises for Netanyahu this evening: I will sue you for defamation over the lies you spread about me, and we will defeat you in the elections very soon.” The Israeli hostages’ families forum launched a fierce attack on Netanyahu on X, saying: “We are heading toward the ‘missed opportunity of the century,’” “After more than 19 months of war, there is no end in sight; no chance for recovery and rehabilitation on the horizon,” the statement added. Netanyahu’s statements came as the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.