Israel’s prime minister says he “will not surrender to pressure” amid growing calls for him to agree a deal to end the conflict in Gaza.
Speaking in an address to the nation, Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “certain things we won’t compromise on” with Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu said he was “fully committed” to advancing negotiations for a ceasefire, but claimed the Palestinian militant group was “refusing” any proposal.
The Israeli prime minister also vowed that Israel would not give up control of the Philadelphi corridor in Gaza – a narrow piece of land in southern Gaza which leads to its border with Egypt – which he described as “Hamas’ lifeline”.
Speaking against a backdrop of some of the largest protests his government has seen since the outbreak of the war in Gaza almost 11 months ago, Mr Netanyahu issued a message of unity, urging that Israel “must stand united as one”.
Some half a million people are estimated to have taken the streets of Israel on Sunday to express anger at his government’s failure to secure a ceasefire deal after the six hostages were found dead in an underground tunnel in Gaza on Saturday.
Mr Netanyahu issued an apology to the families of the hostages for failing to return them alive and asked for forgiveness.
But he also hit out at the suggestion that their deaths should result in more pressure on Israel to agree to a deal, and said Hamas would pay a “heavy price” for killing the hostages in “cold blood”.
The Israeli Health Ministry said post-mortem examinations had determined the hostages had been shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.
Hostage Families Forum, which organised the protest over the weekend, blamed the Israeli government for the deaths, and said the hostages could have been returned alive if a deal had been struck with Hamas to end the conflict in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s crisis is getting worse – and Israel may never forgive him
One thing is undisputedly clear: even if the first six-week phase of a ceasefire was agreed, there is no chance of it being extended.
Netanyahu has weathered many storms in his long years as the country’s leader, but none as big as this.
He believes his approach to Gaza is the right one and he is convinced he can ride out this pressure.
Maybe, but his refusal to compromise and the fate of the hostages at stake, he is boxing himself into a corner Israel might never forgive him for.
“The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages,” they said in a statement.
‘Take it or leave it’
US President Joe Biden added to the pressure by saying Mr Netanyahu was not doing enough to reach a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release.
The outgoing US president nonetheless said a final hostage deal between Israel and Hamas was “very close”.
It comes amid reports that Mr Biden was considering offering a final “take it or leave it” deal to Israel and Hamas as soon as this week, according to two people briefed on the discussions and quoted by Sky News’ US partner network NBC.
Israel has been waging a war on the enclave since Hamas’ attack 11 months ago, which saw 1,200 people killed in southern Israel, with a further 250 taken hostage.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says at least 40,786 Palestinians have now been killed during Israel’s offensive on the densely populated Gaza Strip.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
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“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.