Israel has rejected a statement from Hamas saying the armed group is ready for a 'comprehensive deal' to end the Gaza war and free all its hostages.
'This is more spin by Hamas that has nothing new,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
It insisted the war would end only once the 48 hostages - 20 of whom are believed to be alive - were released, Hamas was disarmed, Gaza was demilitarised, Israel had security control, and an 'alternative civilian administration' was established.
Hamas reiterated its call for a deal that would see hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, Israeli forces withdraw, border crossings reopened, and the start of reconstruction.
The group also said it agreed to the formation of an administration run by independent technocrats to govern post-war Gaza.
It issued the statement on Tuesday evening, hours after US President Donald Trump wrote on social media: 'Tell Hamas to IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 Hostages (Not 2 or 5 or 7!), and things will change rapidly. IT WILL END!'
Last month, Hamas said it had accepted a plan from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt that would see 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages released during a 60-day truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.
Israel has yet to formally respond to the proposal – a decision that Egypt said on Tuesday reflected 'a complete absence of Israeli will for de-escalation and achieving calm and peace'.
The proposal was said by Qatar to be 'almost identical' to an earlier one from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which Israel accepted but Hamas rejected, partly because it did not include a guarantee that the temporary ceasefire would lead to a permanent one.
Netanyahu announced Israel's intention to conquer all of Gaza after indirect negotiations with Hamas on Witkoff's proposal broke down in July.
The prime minister said the military's objectives were to defeat Hamas and free its hostages after 22 months of war triggered by the group's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Hamas now had to choose between accepting Israel's terms or seeing Gaza 'become the equivalent of Rafah and Beit Hanoun', which have been largely flattened by Israeli bombardment and demolitions. The Israeli military was 'preparing in full force', he warned.
The hostages' families are concerned that they will be endangered by the looming offensive to capture and occupy Gaza City, and want the government to instead immediately agree a deal that would secure their release by ending the war.
'The manoeuvring in Gaza City poses a real threat to the hostages, both the living and the deceased who could disappear forever,' the Hostages and Missing Families Forum warned.
'Calls for a comprehensive agreement are coming from both sides - we demand: sit down at the negotiating table now and don't get up until a deal is signed.'
In recent days, the Israeli military has intensified air and ground assaults on the outskirts of Gaza City, which it has said is a Hamas stronghold and declared a 'dangerous combat zone'. The UN's humanitarian office has warned that a further intensification of the Israeli offensive will 'push civilians into an even deeper catastrophe' in Gaza City, which is home to one million people, and where a famine has been declared.
