Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects 2 key Hamas demands for any cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected two key demands Hamas has made during indirect cease-fire talks and said that Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip or release thousands of jailed militants. Netanyahu ruled out the possibility of any deal that demanded Israeli soldiers to leave Gaza permanently without a clear military victory. Netanyahu, speaking at an event elsewhere in the West Bank, denied reports of a possible cease-fire deal to end the war in Gaza and repeated his vow to keep fighting until “absolute victory” over Hamas. “We will not end this war without achieving all of our goals,” said Netanyahu, who is under mounting pressure from families of the hostages and the wider public to reach a deal. “We will not withdraw the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” he said. On Tuesday, Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group was studying the latest terms for a deal, but that the priority was the “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza and that any agreement should lead to a long-term cease-fire. He said Hamas’ leadership had been invited to Cairo to continue talks. The militant group, which has reached lopsided exchange deals with Israel in the past, is expected to demand the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners — including high-profile militants — in exchange for the remaining hostages. Qatar and Egypt, which mediate with Hamas, have held talks with Israel and the United States in recent days. U.S. officials said negotiators had made progress toward a deal, including the phased release of the remaining hostages over two months and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The war in Gaza began when hundreds of Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Over 100 were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 26,700 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The ministry count does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but it says about two-thirds of the dead are women and minors. A strike Tuesday on a residential building in the central town of Deir al-Balah killed 11 people, including four children, according to Associated Press reporters who saw the bodies at a hospital. The war has levelled vast swaths of the tiny coastal enclave, displaced 85% of its population, and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation. With inputs from AP.