Israel spokesman Eylon Levy rules out any ceasefire that 'leaves Hamas in power' during 'Fox & Friends' appearance
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Co-host Pete Hegseth was joined by Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy to discuss the news of a potential ceasefire with Hamas on the March 3 episode of 'Fox & Friends'.
Hegseth shared that the Biden administration has confirmed Israel was agreeing to the ceasefire proposal and hostage release deal and that it was up to Hamas to consent to it.
The announcement followed shortly after the United States airdropped its first supply of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on March 1.
Eylon Levy's take on possibility of ceasefire
"There's not going to be a ceasefire that leaves the hostages in Gaza or Hamas in power," the spokesperson clarified at once. "But what we do want to see is a temporary pause in the fighting to get those poor hostages out."
"We are talking about the 134 people who have been trapped in the Hamas terror dungeons for 149 days now," he continued. "It's too late for 33 of them now, they have already been killed in captivity. And we want to see a pause in the fighting to get those poor hostages back with their families."
When asked about how many hostages Israel was aiming to get back during the pause, Levy said, "I can't confirm any details until everything is confirmed. Obviously, we want to get all of the hostages out and are doing everything we can."
"That is why Israel is continuing to place unrelenting military pressure on Hamas to release the hostages. That's how we got the last 105 hostages out during the temporary pause in November (2023), and we want another pause to get all the others out too," Levy added.
Eylon Levy shares updates on Israeli military operations
In response to Hegseth's question about the status of Israel's military operation, Levy said, "The military campaign has been exceeding expectations."
"Hamas started this war with 24 battalions and essentially only the last 4 in Rafah are still standing. We've managed to shatter Hamas' military formations, and destroy its missile production capability ... We are continuing to move in on the Hamas terror army to bring it to justice for 10/7, and more importantly to make sure that it can never perpetrate those atrocities again and again as it is threatening to do," he added.
The Israeli assault on Hamas, however, has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the death toll crossing 30,000, according to CNN.
