Benjamin Netanyahu says he won’t agree to a deal that ends the war in Gaza, testing the latest truce proposal

People protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. Photo / AP

The viability of a United States-backed proposal to wind down the nearly 9-month-long war in Gaza has been cast into doubt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would only be willing to agree to a “partial” ceasefire deal that would not end the war, comments that sparked an uproar from families of hostages held by Hamas.

In an interview broadcast yesterday on Israel’s Channel 14, a conservative, pro-Netanyahu station, the leader said he was “prepared to make a partial deal – this is no secret – that will return to us some of the people”, referring to the roughly 120 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

“But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I’m not willing to give up on that.”

Netanyahu’s comments did not deviate dramatically from what he has said previously about his terms for a deal. But they come at a sensitive time, as Israel and Hamas appear to be moving further apart over the latest ceasefire proposal, and they could represent another setback for mediators trying to end the war.

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Photo / AP

Netanyahu’s comments stood in sharp contrast to the outlines of the deal detailed late last month by US President Joe Biden, who framed the plan as an Israeli one and which some in Israel refer to as “Netanyahu’s deal”. His remarks could further strain Israel’s ties to the US, its top ally, which launched a major diplomatic push for the latest ceasefire proposal.

The three-phased plan would bring about the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Disputes and mistrust persist between Israel and Hamas over how the deal plays out.

Hamas has insisted it will not release the remaining hostages unless there’s a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. When Biden announced the latest proposal, he said it included both.

Netanyahu says Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and ensuring it can never again carry out an October 7-style assault. A full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, where Hamas’ top leadership and much of its forces are still intact, would almost certainly leave the group in control of the territory and able to rearm.

In the interview, Netanyahu said the current phase of fighting is ending, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, in what could open up a new war front. But he said that didn’t mean the war in Gaza was over.

Today, Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant discussed tensions on the border with Lebanon during his trip to Washington with Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to Biden. He echoed Netanyahu’s comments that the war in Gaza is transitioning to a new phase, which could impact other conflicts, including with Hezbollah.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Gallant that it was critical to avoid escalating the conflict in the Middle East and find a resolution that “allows both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes”.

Israel is close to dismantling the Hamas military brigades in the southern city of Rafah, and maintains “full control” over the Philadelphi Corridor, a strategic buffer zone along Gaza’s border with Egypt, Israel’s military chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi said.

Israel says the corridor is awash with tunnels that Hamas uses to smuggle weapons and other goods. Halevi said Israel’s control over the buffer zone will bring an end to that.

During the initial six-week phase of the proposed ceasefire, the sides are supposed to negotiate an agreement on the second phase, which Biden said would include the release of all remaining living hostages including male soldiers and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. The temporary ceasefire would become permanent.

Hamas appears concerned that Israel would resume the war once its most vulnerable hostages are returned. And even if it doesn’t, Israel could make demands in that stage of negotiations that were not part of the initial deal and are unacceptable to Hamas – and then resume the war when Hamas refuses them.

Netanyahu’s remarks reinforced that concern. After they were aired, Hamas said they represented “unmistakable confirmation of his rejection” of the US-supported deal, which also received the backing of the United Nations’ Security Council.

In a statement, the Palestinian militant group said his position was “in contrast” to what the US Administration said Israel had approved.

The group said its insistence that any deal should include a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip “was an inevitable necessity to block Netanyahu’s attempts of evasion, deception, and perpetuation of aggression and the war of extermination against our people”.

Netanyahu shot back and in a statement from his office said Hamas opposed a deal. He said Israel would not withdraw from Gaza until all 120 hostages are returned.

Hamas welcomed the broad outline of the US plan but proposed what it said were “amendments”. During a visit to the region this month, Blinken said some of Hamas’ demands were “workable” and some were not, without elaborating.

Netanyahu and Hamas both have incentives to keep the devastating war going despite the catastrophic toll it has had on civilians in Gaza and the mounting anger in Israel that the hostages have not been returned and Hamas is not defeated.

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Government. Photo / AP

The families of hostages have grown increasingly impatient with Netanyahu, seeing his apparent reluctance to move ahead on a deal as tainted by political considerations. A group representing the families condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, which it viewed as an Israeli rejection of the latest ceasefire proposal.

“This is an abandonment of the 120 hostages and a violation of the state’s moral duty toward its citizens,” it said, noting that it held Netanyahu responsible for returning all the captives.

Netanyahu yesterday repeated his claim that a “dramatic drop” in arms shipments from the US was hindering the war effort. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said today that he doesn’t understand Netanyahu’s comments and that Biden has delayed only one shipment of heavy bombs over concerns about heavy civilian casualties.

“There are other weapons that we continue to provide Israel as we have done going back years and years, because we are committed to Israel’s security,” Miller told reporters in Washington. “There has been no change in that”.

In its October 7 cross-border assault, Hamas-led militants killed 1200 people and took 250 people captive, including women, children and older people. Dozens were freed in a temporary ceasefire deal in late November and of the 120 remaining hostages, Israel says about a third are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory war has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. It has sparked a humanitarian crisis and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.