Netanyahu Appears To Reverse Opposition Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have reserved his position, opposed to the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostage proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden on May 31.

• Barak Ravid at Axios reports on X: "Netanyahu walks back his comments from yesterday: We are committed to the Israeli proposal for a hostage deal that President Biden welcomed, our position has not changed."
• Politico noted: “For the first time in public, and after weeks of giving mixed signals, [Netanyahu] yesterday [Sunday] rejected the broad cease-fire/hostage release... Instead, Netanyahu said in an interview that he would go for a temporary cease-fire and partial hostage release before the Israel-Hamas war restarted."
• Netanyahu's apparent gear shift comes as Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant arrives in Washington D.C. for a series of meetings on the future of the war in Gaza and developments on the northern border with Lebanon, where the threat of the war expanding into a direct confrontation with Hezbollah has intensified in recent weeks.
• Gallant said yesterday: “We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in additional areas.”
• Semafor reports that the US assured Israeli officials, "that if there was a full-blown war, the country’s most important ally would be behind it.” However, a war with Hezbollah, a more sophisticated fighting force than Hamas, with firepower that could potentially overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system, would dramatically increase regional risk, further strain relations between Israel and US, and likely damage Biden politically at home.