- Written by Bernd Debsmann Jr.
- BBC News, Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited polls showing high support for Israel in the United States.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that public support for Israel in the United States will help it fight “until complete victory” against Hamas.
In his statement, Netanyahu cited polls showing more than 80% of Americans support Israel during the Gaza conflict.
His comments came after US President Joe Biden warned that Israel risked losing global support in a war.
U.S. officials said they were working on a possible ceasefire agreement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Tuesday that he had led a campaign since the start of the conflict to “counter international pressure to end the war early and mobilize support for Israel.”
“We have had great success in this area,” Netanyahu added, citing a recent Harvard-Harris poll that found 82% of Americans support Israel. “This gives us even more strength to continue our campaign until complete victory.”
Biden said on Monday that the United States wants to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip “by next Monday.”
The US president also later suggested that Israel could “lose support from around the world” if it “continues to have this incredibly conservative government.”
A separate poll conducted by The Associated Press and Norc found that about half of American adults in January thought Israel had gone “too far,” up from 40% in November.
White House and State Department officials confirmed Tuesday that negotiations for a temporary ceasefire continue, but did not provide details about the nature of the negotiations or a potential timeline.
White House National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby said “significant progress” had been made toward last week's agreement to allow hostages to leave Gaza and receive humanitarian aid.
“This week we are building on that progress, and the President and his team are working around the clock with multiple partners in the region,” Kirby added.
“But as the president has said over the last 24 hours or so, we don't have a deal at this point. And there's still a lot of work to do.”
Kirby said the ceasefire would “hopefully” result in a six-week halt in fighting, significantly longer than previous ceasefires.
“Maybe it could lead to something more in terms of a better approach to ending the conflict,” he said.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said U.S. diplomats working with Qatar, Egypt and Israel are “trying to push this deal to the finish line,” but that “ultimately we need Hamas' buy-in.” ” he said.
Hamas officials previously told BBC News that the group's priority was not to free the hostages, but to end hostilities.
Israel launched a massive air and ground offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel, some of whom were later released. .
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said at least 29,878 people had died in the region since then, including 96 deaths and 70,215 injuries in the past 24 hours.
