0:00

Benjamin Netanyahu has been clear about what

0:03

victory in the war in Gaza looks like

0:05

to him. Almost immediately

0:07

after the attacks of October 7th,

0:09

the Israeli prime minister vowed to

0:11

crush and destroy Hamas. We're

0:13

going to resign them to the dustbin of history.

0:16

That's my goal. That's my responsibility. That's

0:18

what I'm leading the country to do.

0:21

As the death toll from Israel's operation

0:23

has grown, Netanyahu has repeatedly pointed to

0:25

that goal, the destruction of Hamas, to

0:28

justify continuing the war. Here

0:30

he is in an interview with CNBC last

0:32

month, arguing that an operation in Rafa was

0:35

essential to Israeli security. Those who tell us,

0:37

stop the war now, you

0:39

know, leave Hamas in place, leave those

0:41

four battalions in Rafa are basically saying

0:44

enable Hamas to regroup, recapture

0:46

Gaza and threaten you again. Here

0:49

in the U.S., President Biden has generally

0:51

supported Netanyahu's goal. So Biden's public announcement

0:53

last week was a bit of a

0:55

shock. I want

0:57

to give an update on my efforts to end the

0:59

crisis in Gaza. He said Israel

1:01

offered a ceasefire proposal that could lead

1:03

to a permanent end to the war.

1:06

The implication being the war would end

1:09

before Hamas is completely eliminated.

1:12

To be clear, Israel had not publicly

1:14

talked about that proposal, let alone outlined

1:16

its terms in any detail. You can't

1:18

lose this moment. Indefinite

1:21

war in pursuit of an unidentified

1:23

notion of total victory will

1:26

not bring Israel, will not bring

1:28

down, will only bog down

1:30

Israel and Gaza, draining

1:32

the economic, military, human

1:35

resources and furthering Israel's

1:37

isolation in the world. This

1:39

week, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller underscored that

1:41

this was an Israeli proposal. Israel has made

1:43

clear they are committed to this proposal. They

1:45

made clear to us they were committed to

1:48

this proposal before they sent it. They have

1:50

made clear to us since they sent it

1:52

that they are committed to the proposal. Publicly,

1:55

Israel's position is murky.

1:58

Netanyahu's governing coalition. and his

2:01

political survival depend on ultra-nationalist

2:03

politicians who will not accept

2:05

ending the war before Hamas

2:08

is completely eliminated. And

2:12

in a statement released this week, Netanyahu insisted that

2:15

the destruction of Hamas is

2:17

part of Israel's ceasefire proposal. Remember,

2:20

Hamas itself would eventually have to

2:22

agree to those terms. Consider this.

2:28

Netanyahu says the war can't

2:30

end until Israel has destroyed

2:32

Hamas. Our reporting from

2:34

Israel and Gaza suggests that goal

2:36

is still a long way off.

2:43

From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro.

2:47

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