ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today hardened his rejection of Hamas’s demands for an end to the war on Gaza in exchange for the freeing of captives.

The right-wing prime minister said he was willing to pause fighting in Gaza to secure the release of the captives still being held by Hamas, believed to number more than 130.

But Mr Netanyahu said he refused to permanently halt the offensive on Gaza because he said this would keep Hamas in power and this would pose a threat to Israel. 

He said: “While Israel has shown willingness, Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, first among them the demand to remove all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war and leave Hamas in power,” saying: “Israel cannot accept that.”

The prime minister said: “We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding settlements.”

He said accepting a full halt to hostilities would mean “surrender” to Hamas and the Israelis would “continue the fighting until all its goals are achieved.”

Mr Netanyahu has faced pressure from within his far-right coalition to press ahead with the long-promised offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million people have taken shelter.

This follows a meeting on Saturday between Hamas delegates with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo to halt Israel’s offensive in Gaza in return for freeing the hostages.

An adviser to Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the group was looking at the latest proposal with “full seriousness.”

But he repeated a demand that any deal would have to explicitly include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and complete end to the war. A demand that the latest remarks by Mr Netanyahu explicitly dismiss.

But the far-right coalition running Israel continues to come under intense pressure from the people of Israel.

Tens of thousands of Israelis held rallies on Saturday calling for a deal to bring hostages home, ahead of further ceasefire talks.

Protesters in Tel Aviv chanted “War is not holy, life is,” with some accusing Mr Netanyahu of aiming to prolong the conflict in Gaza.

The war began after an October 7 attack by Hamas during which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages taken. 

The Israelis have killed more than 34,683 Palestinians during its retaliation and wounded at least 77,900 people.