Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects proposed ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas
Netanyahu rejects ceasefire and hostage release deal
Israel's Prime Minister on Wednesday rejected a Hamas-proposed ceasefire and hostage-release agreement, calling them “delusional.”
His hardline stance will likely complicate efforts to strike a deal between the two sides, which could ultimately ease a devastating conflict in Gaza and bring Israeli hostages home.
Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with Israel's war against Hamas, now in its fifth month, until achieving “absolute victory.”
Hamas' plan called for a fourand-a-half-month pause in fighting, during which all hostages would be released and Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza.
However, it would have effectively left the Palestinian militant group in power, a scenario Israel opposes.
“Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands that we heard now not only won’t lead to freeing the captives, it will just invite another massacre,” Netanyahu said in a nationally televised evening news conference.
“We are on the way to an absolute victory,” Netanyahu said, adding that the operation would last months, not years. "There is no other solution."
Criticism of Israel's PM is growing inside the country, with families of hostages pressing the government to change its approach to secure the release of their loved ones.
Others question whether Netanyahu can plausibly achieve his goals, as Israeli military casualties mount and civilians in Gaza face a dire situation.
More hostages confirmed dead
The Israeli authorities say that 31 of the hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas on October 7 have now been confirmed dead – more than a fifth of the number that remain in the area.
Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people in their attack, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. More than 100 captives, mostly women and children, were released during a weeklong ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The Palestinian death toll from nearly four months of war has reached 27,585, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says most of the dead have been women and children.
The war has levelled vast swaths of the tiny enclave and pushed a quarter of its residents to starvation.
Israel funding bill fails in US
A bill to provide Israel with more military aid went down to defeat Tuesday in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC.
The vote was a humiliating failure for Speaker Mike Johnson, who had attempted to separate US support for Israel from other national security priorities such as fighting Russia's invasion of Ukraine and deterring crossings at the US-Mexico border.
It was the second setback of the day for House Republican leaders. Just minutes before the vote, their drive to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over events at the US-Mexico border fell short thanks to the opposition of three House Republicans.
The House had already gone on the record in support of an Israel aid package. Johnson brought that package up in November on one of his first days as the new House speaker in response to Hamas's October 7 attack.