Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday pledged “complete victory” and rejected a deal put forward by Hamas that would have freed all remaining hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in exchange for a lengthy cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
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.
“We are on the way to complete victory. The victory is within reach,” he said, according to Israeli media.
“We will continue until the end,” he said. “There is no other solution besides complete victory.”
Mr. Netanyahu cast all promises made by Hamas — which Israel, the U.S. and many Western governments consider a terrorist organization — as insincere. He said that any concessions made by Israel would invite another attack like the one seen on Oct. 7, when Hamas fighters invaded southern Israel, killed more than 1,200 Israelis, and took more than 250 hostages.
“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.
Mr. Netanyahu publicly rejected the Hamas 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 release all the remaining prisoners. Mr. Blinken was set to address reporters later in the day for a full press conference.
In brief comments earlier in the day, he indicated that there was no deal on the immediate horizon, despite a growing global outcry over the death toll for Palestinian civilians in Gaza as Israeli and Hamas fighters battle in the streets.
“There’s a lot of work to be done but we are very much focused on doing that work and hopefully being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted so many months ago,” Mr. Blinken said.
Mr. Netanyahu‘s public rejection of a cease-fire proposal could be viewed as a snub to Mr. Blinken and the Biden administration as a whole. President Biden has pushed for months for “humanitarian pauses” in the Israel-Hamas war and has intensified efforts to secure a hostage release deal.
But even the U.S. seemed to realize that the Hamas demands weren’t realistic. President Biden earlier this week described Hamas‘ position as “a little over the top.” The Palestinian group wanted a four-and-a-half month cease-fire in Gaza, during which time all remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
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 since the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel has maintained that it will accept no role for Hamas in the governance of Gaza. A long cease-fire, Mr. Netanyahu and his aides argue, would give the militants time to re-group and re-arm for a fresh round of fighting.
“The ‘day after’ is the day after Hamas,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
Hamas took more than 250 hostages during its Oct. 7 terrorist assault. About 100 were freed during a brief cease-fire last November. Israel‘s government just this week informed families that it had concluded that 30 of the remaining 130 hostages on the official list had died.
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 to escape the battles raging to the north in the small, densely populated enclave.
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.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.