Netanyahu Just Invited The MOTHER Of All Retaliations!

Right, so The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire is over and we’ve entered this game of optics at this point, where the media await the moment they can write about Hamas breaking the ceasefire, whilst Israel imposes demands upon them they know they would never agree to. Meanwhile of course Hamas, along with the mediators of Egypt and Qatar have pushed for meaningful dialogue to bring about phase two of the ceasefire, to see the full withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas with hostages Israel holds released in exchange, yet Israel have refused to engage with these talks completely, the end of Netanyahu and his government as that would mean. So we’re in the middle of a stand off where phase one has ended and phase two has not begun and probably never will and that is all on Netanyahu. He is making a fatal mistake, because not only is his brinkmanship jeopardising the lives of Israeli hostages till held in Gaza, which he is widely accused of not caring about anyway, but stability in the Middle East is threatened if Israel resumes it’s genocide which now seems likelier than ever and he will have invited the mother of all retaliations if this comes to pass.
Right, so the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered after 15 months of devastating conflict, now hangs by a thread as anyonew paying attention to this situation in the Middle East knew it would, knowing Netanyahu was going to derail it at some point to keep himself in power, his all consuming obsession. His government has in the last few days been pushing for a six-week extension of the first phase of the ceasefire, despite most of its terms having already been fulfilled. This was blatantly a stalling move as talks on phase 2 were supposed to get under way, but instead Netanyahu decided to move the goalposts and make new demands as he has done every single time previously when a ceasefire has been attempted and ultimately all he will achieve – and this is what he wants, of that I’m certain – is to plunge Gaza back into carnage.
The first phase of the ceasefire was a massive achievement in itself and if not for the demands of Donald Trump for Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire, it likely would never have happened, Israel reliant on keeping the satsuma skinned sap on side and continue delivering the finance and military aid Netanyahu needs to keep his aggressions going as he spreads war over increasingly wider areas of the Middle East. Trump has milked those optics now though, personal gain, much like Netanyahu is all he was ever in it for, and so we now find ourselves where we do. While the implementation of phase one has been far from perfect, its focus on humanitarian measures, including the release of hostages, the delivery of aid, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain areas means positive progress has been made. Hundreds of hostages have been released across both sides, and much-needed aid, though often not the most needed aid, began to flow into Gaza, providing a lifeline for those caught in the crossfire.
However, the second phase of the ceasefire, which was supposed to address making the ceasefire permanent, the withdrawal in full of Israel from Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages has yet to begin, with Israel having avoided meaningful engagement in talks completely. Instead of moving forward, Netanyahu’s government has now sought to extend the first phase by another six weeks, effectively doubling its duration. This decision has been slammed across the board as a blatant attempt to avoid seeking an end to the conflict in order for Netanyahu to stay in power – that is all that ultimately matters to him.
Netanyahu’s push to extend the first phase of the ceasefire was a naked attempt to delay or derail the second phase, when his new demands that he’s put forward, instead of being part of a phase one extension, could form part of those phase 2 talks, but the very thought of agreeing to phase 2 in any shape or form Netanyahu knows will be the end of him, a promise made by his hard right coalition partners to bring him down if he dares do so.
By prolonging the initial phase, Israel can continue to exert pressure on Hamas without committing to the more challenging aspects of the agreement and risk his own position, all consistent with Netanyahu’s long-standing refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations in the name of his own political survival.
Of Netanyahu’s new demands, one of the most blatant has been the demand that Hamas release all of their remaining hostages in one go. As callous as it might be to consider them in such terms, they are the remaining leverage Hamas holds and giving them up without permanent assurances of a permanent ceasefire solution is contrary to the outline terms phase 2 is meant to be built on. Everyone wants to see these hostages released, along with the many times more that are held in Israeli detention that the media never talks about, or refers to as prisoners despite being held in many cases without charge, but that needs to come with new concrete assurances, not Netanyahu changing the rules to suit himself and nobody else. With no more hostages held by Hamas should Netanyahu get his way, he would face even less pressure to negotiate a comprehensive deal, allowing him to resume the genocide as he certainly would, the goal of removing Hamas replacing any notion of rescuing the hostages and indeed Hamas stepping down and relinquishing power has also been made a condition of moving forwards, something Hamas, as the elected government in Gaza as they would never agree to. This strategy not only undermines the spirit of the ceasefire but also risks alienating other regional negotiators who have worked to broker the agreement and when their national integrity would also be threatened by wider war in the Middle East, most notably right now in the case of Egypt, the wider destabilisation becomes more obvious as well.
In addition to seeking this extension of the first phase though, Israel has introduced a series of demands that are clearly impractical and designed to sabotage the ceasefire, some of which I’ve discussed already, such as the complete disarmament of Hamas, but also the establishment of buffer zones in Gaza, as we’ve seen Israel also doing in Lebanon and Syria, such as the continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the border zone along the Gaza-Egypt border which is also a clear violation of Peace Accords held with Egypt, further threatening Israeli-Egyptian relations as that does and Egypt parking tanks outside the walls of Rafah make clear how much of a threat Egypt, whilst also being negotiators, are seeing this as.
The Philadelphi Corridor is also a vital lifeline for the people of Gaza, providing access to essential goods and services. By retaining control of this area, Israel would effectively maintain its stranglehold on Gaza, rendering any talk of reconstruction or economic recovery meaningless.
Hamas have, as you might imagine, refused Israel’s conditions for a phase one extension, an excerpt of what they have said from The Cradle reading:
‘Hamas announced today that it had rejected Israel's proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, accusing Israel of evading its commitment to ending the war.
Israel wants to extend the first phase to secure the release of more prisoners then resume its genocide, without showing any commitment to compensation for violations of the humanitarian protocol.
In the first phase of the agreement, Netanyahu refused to allow adequate mobile homes and tents into Gaza, and 8 children froze to death as a result. He also banned the entry of earthmoving equipment needed to remove the rubble from the roads and buildings.
Ali Rajih, a resident in Jabalia, said, “Ramadan has come this year, and we are on the streets with no shelter, no work, no money, nothing. My eight children and I are homeless. We are living on the streets of Jabalia camp with nothing but Allah's mercy."’
The collapse of the ceasefire is the last thing anyone wanted to see, but with a madman like Netanyahu thinking only of himself, and too many equally reprehensible word leaders still supporting him, the resumption of hostilities has felt for too many to be an inevitability, a not if but when. The territory’s infrastructure, already in ruins, would face further destruction, leaving its residents to continue even longer without access to basic services such as electricity, water, and healthcare and likely under threat of being displaced yet again. The humanitarian crisis, which has been exacerbated by the blockade, would reach catastrophic proportions, with millions of people at even greater risk than they are already of starvation and disease and the cold right now as well.
The resumption of hostilities would also have a profound psychological impact on Gaza’s population, particularly its children. Many have already experienced multiple rounds of violence, leaving them traumatized and fearful for the future and if you’ve managed to find a copy of the BBC’s documentary, Gaza: Life In A Warzone, you’ll have heard the perspective of those children, sadly the BBC itself pulled it under pressure. A return to war would only deepen their suffering, perpetuating a cycle of violence that has plagued the region for decades and despite everything we witness, too many media a political figures will only tell it from a pro Israel slant, despite what we are literally witnessing as the genocide plays out again before all of our eyes on social media.
In a further escalation, as of this morning, Israel has halted all aid deliveries into Gaza as the first phase of the ceasefire officially expires. Collective punishment has begun again, a major feature of Israel’s actions over the last 15 months, so to all intents and purpose4s, they have themselves ended the ceasefire, yet instead this gets portrayed as leverage and pressure being put on Hamas. It cannot continue to be accepted that Israel break the rules, breach the ceasefire and don’t get the finger of blame pointed at them, because this is on them. It is the civilian population that bear the brunt of this decision, not Hamas, so call it what it is, a war crime in a war Israel are clearly the ones restarting. Without access to food, medicine, and other essential supplies, the people of Gaza will face further unimaginable hardship, there will be further destabilisation in the region and any prospects for peace will be utterly undermined, as unlikely as they were anyway, with Netanyahu’s objectives always having been the complete opposite.
Nevertheless, the international community has condemned Israel’s decision to cut off aid, with human rights organisations warning of a looming humanitarian catastrophe. The United Nations has called for an immediate resumption of aid deliveries, emphasizing that the blockade of Gaza is a violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to introduce impossible demands and now cut off aid to Gaza as well is plunging Gaza back into devastation. By stalling on the second phase and refusing to engage meaningfully in further ceasefire talks, Netanyahu threatens not just peace, but of course even more lives. It’s what he has always wanted though and those defending him are increasingly screaming into an ever increasing void.
Meanwhile it isn’t just in Gaza where war is potentially escalating again, as the matter of the Philadelphi Corridor has raised tensions even more with Egypt as the ceasefire in Gaza seemingly collapses. Get all the details of the latest aspect of that story in this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like, share and subscribe before you do so though, so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new daily content and help support the channel at the same time which is enormously appreciated and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.