Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, saying he would settle for nothing less than “complete victory,” rejected a deal put forward by Hamas that would have freed all remaining hostages in exchange for a lengthy cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
Mr. Netanyahu publicly rejected the Palestinian militant group’s cease-fire demands just hours after meeting with visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a whirlwind tour of the Middle East this week to push a deal to pause the fighting and prevent a wider war from breaking out.
“The victory is within reach,” Mr. Netanyahu told a press briefing Wednesday. “We will continue until the end. There is no other solution besides complete victory.”
In remarks to the press hours later, the U.S. secretary of state offered a clear view of the gulf opening up between the Biden administration and Mr. Netanyahu. He said Washington saw negotiating “space” in the latest Hamas offer that still could produce a significant halt to the fighting and relief for more than 1 million Gaza residents trapped in the conflict.
“While there are some clear nonstarters in Hamas’ response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached, and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there,” Mr. Blinken told reporters.
The U.S. diplomat is trying to secure a cease-fire while rescuing a larger Biden priority — a postwar settlement in which Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel in return for a “clear, credible, time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
But that so far is proving a bridge too far for Mr. Netanyahu, his right-wing government and an Israeli population still reeling from the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas fighters ignited the latest round of fighting with an attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals.
Mr. Netanyahu’s strong comments at a press conference Wednesday will fuel serious questions about the eventual fate of the more than 100 hostages still in the hands of Hamas. But the Israeli leader said the demands made by the group, reportedly including a break in hostilities that would have lasted more than four months, were unacceptable.
“Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands that we heard now not only won’t lead to freeing the captives. It will just invite another massacre,” he said.
According to a proposal seen by The Associated Press, Hamas was proposing in the first 45 days of the accord to release all remaining women and children, as well as older and sick men, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel would also withdraw from populated areas, cease aerial operations, allow far more aid to enter and permit Palestinians to return to their homes, including in devastated northern Gaza.
The second phase, to be negotiated during the first, would include the release of all remaining hostages, mostly soldiers, in exchange for all Palestinian detainees over the age of 50, including senior militants, according to the AP.
The Hamas proposal also seemed to be a step toward a future in which the group retained at least some governing power in Gaza, which it has ruled since winning elections there in 2006.
But Israel has maintained that it will accept no role for Hamas, which it and the U.S. government consider a terrorist organization, in the governance of Gaza. A long cease-fire, Mr. Netanyahu and his aides argue, would give the militants time to regroup and rearm.
“The ‘day after’ is the day after Hamas,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
Wednesday’s fast-moving events also will call into question how much longer countries such as Egypt and Qatar, which have been key mediators in negotiations with Hamas, will continue in those roles.
Israeli military officials this week suggested they will press ahead with military operations in southern Gaza, near the town of Rafah along the Egyptian border. Egyptian officials warned Israel against the looming assault on Rafah, where thousands of Gaza residents have taken refuge.
Egyptian officials have even warned that an Israeli deployment along the border could threaten the peace treaty the two countries signed over four decades ago.
• David R. Sands contributed to this report, which was based in part on wire service dispatches.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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