JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday forcefully rejected a cease-fire proposal by Hamas, vowing to fight until a “complete victory” had been achieved over the militant group in Gaza — a setback for Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Israel hoping to build support for a humanitarian pause.
Hamas had called for a three-stage cease-fire deal that would release Israeli hostages, alive and dead, over a more than four-month period in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, according to the leaked text of its response to a truce proposal verified by The Washington Post.
Netanyahu called Hamas’s terms “delusional” in a news conference Wednesday evening: “By giving in to Hamas demands, we will only invite another massacre,” he said, adding that Israel would continue its military campaign in southern Gaza.
