The New York Times: Netanyahu dismisses Hamas counter-offer on ceasefire, instead opting for ‘total victory’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed a Hamas counterproposal for a cease-fire, saying Wednesday that an Israeli victory in the Gaza Strip was “within reach.”

“There is no solution besides total victory,” Mr Netanyahu said during a news conference in Jerusalem, shortly after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss peace proposals. “If Hamas survives in Gaza, it’s only a matter of time until the next massacre.”

His comments appeared to throw cold water on the wary hopes raised Tuesday, when US and Qatari officials said that the Hamas offer reflected potential progress. But Mr Netanyahu, a canny negotiator, avoided specifics in his news conference, leaving things somewhat murky.

In response to an offer negotiated by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Hamas submitted a cease-fire proposal that outlined a path to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of Hamas’ remaining hostages in exchange for some of the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Without specifying any details of the Hamas proposal, Mr Netanyahu said “surrender to the ludicrous demands of Hamas” would neither free the more than 100 hostages still in Gaza nor restore Israel’s security.

Asked specifically whether Israel had formally rejected the framework, Mr Netanyahu said: “Based on what they passed to us? From what I’ve seen so far — you, too, would have said no.”

Hamas’ proposed deal would have effectively ended Israel’s campaign in Gaza without toppling the group’s rule there, analysts said. Mr Netanyahu rejects any postwar arrangement that leaves Hamas in power, saying that it would allow the group to commit another assault on Israel similar to the October 7 attack that killed roughly 1,200 people.

Mr Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel’s leadership had directed the military to prepare to deploy in Rafah, at the southern border of Gaza, an area in which over 1.4 million Palestinians are believed to have crowded, seeking shelter, according to the United Nations. The military was also planning to operate in camps in the central Gaza Strip, he added, calling the areas “Hamas’ last remaining strongholds.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres pronounced himself “especially alarmed” Wednesday by reports that the Israeli military intended to focus next on Rafah, where displaced Palestinians “have been squeezed in a desperate search for safety.”

“Such an action would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences,” said Guterres, renewing his call for an immediate cease-fire and the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Israeli authorities have said 253 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage on October 7. More than 100 have been released, mostly during a week-long cease-fire deal that began in November. Israeli officials say 136 remain in Gaza, including dozens who are believed to be dead.

Fearing for the remaining hostages after four months of warfare, their families have stepped up their calls for the government to immediately reach a hostage deal with Hamas. Some have begun sleeping in a protest tent near the prime minister’s Jerusalem residence.

“I address you, Mr Netanyahu; everything is in your hands. You are the one who can,” said Adina Moshe, 72, an Israeli hostage who was freed from Hamas captivity during the weeklong cease-fire. “I’m terribly afraid if you continue with this line of dismantling Hamas, no hostages will be left to release.”

Mr Netanyahu said he had told Mr Blinken that after Israel toppled Hamas, Israel would “ensure that Gaza will be demilitarized forever.” Israel would continue to operate in Gaza “everywhere and anytime” in order to protect its security, so as “to ensure that terrorism will not raise its head again,” he added.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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