Israeli ambassador threatens Hamas, says – give up power or else we will occupy Gaza

New Delhi. Hamas should release the hostages from the Gaza Strip and give up power and adopt the path of diplomacy. If this does not happen, Israel will control Gaza. This statement was given by Israel’s ambassador to India Reuven Azar in a conversation on Wednesday.

The ambassador’s statement comes after Israel carried out heavy airstrikes on Gaza, killing more than 400 people. These attacks were the deadliest in the last two months, ending the nearly two-month-old ceasefire that began in January. Israel blamed Hamas for rejecting proposals to extend the ceasefire.

What did the Israeli ambassador say?

Azar said that Israel had been “waiting for a long time” for the release of the remaining hostages from Hamas. He justified military pressure on the Palestinian group to achieve a diplomatic solution to end the war.

“We cannot continue the situation in which they are holding our hostages and not releasing them. We decided to increase military pressure so that we can get our hostages back and find a diplomatic solution to this conflict,” he said.

He said Hamas now has two options – if they do not cooperate with diplomacy and release the hostages, then we will have to go there, occupy that area and take charge of humanitarian aid ourselves.

The ambassador also said Israel is ready to help the people of Gaza. When asked if Israel is creating a large buffer zone in the Gaza Strip or asking people to leave Gaza completely, Azar denied it.

He said Israel is not asking Palestinians to leave Gaza. What we are doing is that if Hamas does not accept the US proposals, we will occupy that area. We will clear the Gaza Strip.