Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the perception of tension between the Jewish state and the US over the operation in Rafah is making it harder to reach a hostage deal with Hamas.
After the Biden administration halted the delivery of certain munitions to the Israel Defense Forces over fears of growing civilian casualties in Rafah, Netanyahu claimed the optics of a disagreement between the two ally nations harm Israel’s bargaining power and empower the Iranian-backed terror group.
“That perception certainly doesn’t help the hostage situation, certainly doesn’t help stabilize the Middle East,” Netanyahu said Sunday night on the “Call Me Back” podcast.
“Fourteen thousand have been killed, combatants, and, probably around 16,000 civilians have been killed,” Netanyahu told the “Call Me Back” podcast.
The estimate is slightly lower than the numbers provided by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which put the total death count at more than 35,000. The ministry’s estimate does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians.
The Jewish state previously estimated that two civilians were killed for every terrorist back in December.
Read more at https://nypost.com/2024/05/13/world-news/perception-of-us-israel-tension-over-rafah-hurts-hostage-deal-netanyahu/
#benjaminnetanyahu #israel #hamas #palestine #gaza
The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more.
Subscribe to New York Post Sports: https://www.youtube.com/c/nypostsports
Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/
Follow The New York Post on:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost