JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas’ terms for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Still, participants in the negotiations say there’s room for hope.
The prime minister insisted Israel is on its way to complete victory within a matter of months.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) creates wonders, and is moving forward in a systematic way to get all the goals of the war that we, at the political level, required from it: the elimination of Hamas, the release of all hostages, and the promise that Gaza won’t be a threat to Israel anymore,” he stated.
Netanyahu repeated his belief that military pressure is the best way to release the nearly 100 hostages and approximately 30 bodies held by Hamas.
“Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands that we heard now not only won’t lead to freeing the captives, it will just invite another massacre – it will invite a major disaster on the state of Israel that none of our citizens would want to accept,” he declared.
Hamas’ terms include releasing hostages and bodies in three phases in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners – including those who have murdered Israelis – more
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