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The former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said that Israel can’t stay in Gaza once the “destruction” of Hamas has been achieved.

“We are likely to succeed in breaking down the Hamas military power,” he said.

Once that is done, he said: “Obviously, Israel can’t stay in Gaza. We don’t need to stay in Gaza”.

Outlining his vision for the next steps, he said: “Israel must announce officially, publicly in the most explicit manner that at the end of the military campaign, Israel is prepared to start negotiations on the two-state solution.”

Mr Olmert said outlining this may give the international community the “patience” to allow Israel to continue its military operation until it has successfully completed it. 

But, he said, he didn’t think Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, would make that concession.

“That’s another reason why I think that Netanyahu has to go and someone else has to come,” he said.

“Israel needs a government that has the combination of the strength and the courage to fight for what needs to be fought, and at the same time the wisdom and the inspiration to move forward towards peace with the Palestinians,” said Mr Olmert, who is a political adversary of Mr Netanyahu.

Mr Olmert stressed that once the four-day ceasefire is over, Israel’s military operation will resume.

“Without destruction of the military power of Hamas, there will never be any chance for peace in the Middle East,” he said.

WHO working on evacuations from northern Gaza hospitals

The World Health Organisation has said it is working on further evacuations from northern Gaza hospitals as a four-day ceasefire gets under way. 

It expressed particular concern for the region’s biggest hospital, al Shifa, which was raided by Israeli troops last week. 

 “We’re extremely concerned about the safety of the estimated 100 patients and health workers remaining at al Shifa,” said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.

He declined to react to comments from the Hamas-led health ministry in Gaza, which has said it is suspending cooperation with WHO amid reports that Israel is holding medical staff for questioning.

Yesterday, the Israel Defence Forces said it had arrested the director of al Shifa after claiming it had found evidence of “extensive terrorist activity” at the complex under his watch.

Four-day ceasefire ‘unprecedented in modern warfare’

A multi-day pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict is “almost unprecedented in modern warfare,” the director of defence and security at thinktank Civitas has told Sky News.

“I served in Iraq and Afghanistan… and we’ve never had multi-day pauses in fighting,” Robert Clark said.

He said the risk for Israel is that the pause could allow the militant group Hamas time to regroup. 

Agreeing to the truce deal shows the extent to which Israel wants to get its hostages back, Mr Clark said.

He added that the deal, which was agreed after weeks of intense diplomatic efforts, remains “incredibly fragile”, warning that any break in the truce risks further escalation.

Although the ceasefire appears to be holding this morning, both sides have been accused of violations.