Benjamin Netanyahu will push for a deal with Hamas “only when the streets are burning”, an Israeli minister has said.

A national general strike began in Israel on Monday in an attempt to put pressure on the Israeli prime minister to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

The mass demonstration followed the killing on Saturday of six hostages taken by Hamas in its October 7 attack.

But even with hundreds of thousands expected to take to the streets, a minister from Netanyahu’s own party suggested peaceful protest might not be enough to shift the prime minister’s position.

“It’s unpleasant to admit, but Netanyahu will push for a deal only when the streets are burning,” the minister told Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper.

“Right now, he fears [hard-Right ministers Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich more than he fears the families of the hostages.”

Netanyahu accused of sabotaging talks

Mr Netanyahu has been accused of deliberately making a ceasefire deal with Hamas impossible, after hard-Right cabinet members threatened to leave his coalition should he agree one.

Some Israelis therefore believe Mr Netanyahu is sabotaging the talks by setting demands he knows Hamas won’t agree to.

The biggest sticking point in the negotiations is who will remain in control of a buffer zone separating Gaza from Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Last week, Netanyahu’s security cabinet decided Israel must remain in control of the area to prevent smuggling of arms into Gaza.

Meanwhile, Basem Naim, a Hamas official, told The Telegraph that Israel “has to leave the Philadelphi corridor totally”.

“When it comes to the corridor, there is no compromise. There will be no ceasefire deal without solving this problem,” he said.

Joe Biden steps up efforts

The United States has also stepped up its effort to secure a ceasefire deal, with Joe Biden, the president, pushing for resolution.

An aide to Mr Biden told families of American hostages that the next few days would be critical in the attempt to free the remaining captives.

The White House said that Mr Biden would hold fresh talks with Washington’s ceasefire negotiators on Monday.

The US, Egypt and Qatar plan to present a final “take it or leave it” deal to the parties in the coming weeks, according to the Washington Post.

A senior US government official told the paper that if either side failed to accept the new proposal, it could mark the end of the American-led negotiations.

“You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point,” the official said.

The source added that Washington, Cairo and Doha had been preparing a “final proposal” before the execution of six hostages in Gaza on Saturday.

“Does [the news of the executions] derail the deal? No. If anything, it should add additional urgency in this closing phase, which we were already in,” the official said.