Netanyahu rejects Hamas cease-fire demands, vows to fight until ‘absolute victory’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ proposed cease-fire deal on Wednesday, slamming the terrorists’ demands as “delusional” — but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed there was still hope for an agreement to be reached. 

Netanyahu reiterated during a press event in Tel Aviv that Israel would not bend to Hamas’ demands, which called for a four-and-a-half months truce to release the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza.

Instead, the prime minister said Israel’s forces would proceed in Gaza until achieving “absolute victory” in the war that has gone on for four months.

“Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands that we heard now not only won’t lead to freeing the captives, it will just invite another massacre,” Netanyahu said.

“We are on the way to an absolute victory,” he added, claiming the war would end in 2024. “There is no other solution.”

Netanyahu also ruled out any agreement that would leave Hamas in full or partial control over the Palestinian enclave, a sentiment backed by the US. 

He, again, claimed that foreign powers should also be excluded from having a say in what post-war Gaza looks like, as Israel is the “only power” capable of establishing security in the long term.

Netanyahu, however, did not rule out the possibility for Israel to issue its own counter-proposal.

The prime minister’s comments come after a meeting with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who is on his fifth tour in the region and had been pushing for a deal to pass between Hamas and Israel.

Despite what the prime minister said, Blinken remained optimistic that a cease-fire deal could still move forward.

“While there are some clear nonstarters in Hamas’ response, we do think it creates space for an agreement to be reached,” Blinken told reporters on Wednesday.

He said he would continue to speak with Netanyahu and what Israel should send to negotiators in Cairo, as the US remains committed to helping push for the release of the hostages and to end the war in Gaza.

Blinken did not elaborate on what could save the deal, but said negotiators would keep working until they land on an agreement between Israel and Hamas. 

President Biden was also briefed on the proposal, calling the terrorists’ demands “a little over the top,” but agreeing that negotiators should continue to seek a deal.

Hamas had proposed three phases to the deal, each lasting 45 days, with the first phase seeing all the women and men under 19, as well as the elderly and sick, released.

The hostages would be exchanged for Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli jails, similar to the exchange deal carried out last November.

The second phase would only commence once Israel and Hamas mutually agree to end the fighting in Gaza, with Hamas freeing all the remaining male hostages under the condition that Israel withdraws its army.

The final phase would see the bodies and remains of dead hostages released. Israeli officials believe that Hamas has the bodies of at least 32 hostages who died either during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack or while in captivity.

Sources close to the negotiations told Reuters that Hamas also wanted guarantees from negotiators that the cease-fire deal will be upheld and not collapse as soon as the hostages are freed.

Blinken asserted that a peaceful resolution to the war, with Hamas out of power in Gaza, would help stabilize the region and end the fighting that has erupted in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. 

While rejecting Hamas’ deal, Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces have maintained that the best way to ensure a fair deal and the freedom of the hostages was through military pressure.

“It won’t happen without military pressure, let’s not fool ourselves, that’s why across the entire Strip we are applying pressure with fire, with a [ground] maneuver, with surprise raids, and we will continue to do it in a very, very high-quality way,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a statement after Hamas delivered its proposal.

The Israeli government, however, continues to face mounting criticism from the families of the hostages still in Gaza, with their supporters holding daily protests in Tel Aviv to demand Netanyahu do whatever he can to free their relatives.

The prime minister’s position also appears to be at odds with the majority of Israelis, with the latest poll from the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute finding that most citizens want their country to prioritize the release of the hostages over defeating Hamas.

The poll of more than 760 people published on Tuesday showed that about 51% believed the main goal of the war should be to free the hostages in Gaza, while only around a third believed defeating Hamas should be the priority.

With Post wires