Netanyahu announced his rejection of a deal with Hamas... but he continued to negotiate with it.

In the wake of statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government will not surrender to Hamas and will continue the war until victory is achieved and crushing it, and statements by Defense Minister Yoav Galant that his forces are approaching Yahya Sinwar (Hamas’ leader in Gaza), a number of The families of the Israeli hostages are crying out to citizens to take to the streets to force the government to accept a prisoner exchange deal. They accused Netanyahu of “issuing the death sentence” on their children.

In an editorial for the Haaretz newspaper on Thursday, editor Uri Misgav said that Netanyahu presented a plan to sacrifice the hostages, and he saw that Hamas had formulated a serious response to the mediators’ plan, “and a rational and responsible government must approve it.” He added: “But Netanyahu and his supporters will reject this in order to continue fighting, and their hands will be stained with the blood of the kidnapped forever.”

The article also stated that “Israel is required to pay high prices; Whether regarding the continuation of the fighting, or the issue of liberating (Palestinian) prisoners. But the prices demanded by Hamas express the high value that Israel has for the lives of its citizens and soldiers, and therefore Israel must focus on the return it receives. (Hamas) detains dozens of kidnapped Israelis of all ages; Civilians and soldiers, 4 months ago, there is no value in bringing them home.”

The newspaper considered Netanyahu’s statements “a planting of illusions,” and said: “The Israeli public is prohibited from deluding itself, or allowing the political leadership to blind its eyes: Every day that passes; Every moment that passes puts the lives of the kidnapped in danger. The Wall Street Journal has published an estimate that only about 85 of the 136 kidnapped persons held by Hamas are still alive. In the Israeli media, it was reported that there is a fear that the real number of deaths is much higher. Postponing the deal means a death sentence for at least some of the kidnapped people, if not all of them. This is prohibited. There are the government, its president, and the extremist wing, which is ready to sacrifice the kidnapped in order to continue the war without truces and without the release of security prisoners.

Netanyahu had caused drama with his statements, on the night of Wednesday - Thursday, when he held a solo press conference after his “lengthy and in-depth” meeting, as he said, with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, when he announced a veiled rejection of Hamas’ conditions and said that he had given his instructions to the army to prepare to invade Rafah.

He said: “The Israeli army is advancing systematically to achieve all the combat goals that we have set. From the beginning, I was determined that comprehensive victory was our goal, and we would not settle for anything less than that.”

Netanyahu said: “We will replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), and I have instructed to start on this path, and I have informed Blinken of this.” He added: “In the same regard, we are facing a historical turning point, where the Middle East is heading towards light, or towards darkness. Absolute victory in Gaza is a necessary condition for achieving this.”

He continued: “We have instructed the Israeli army to operate in Rafah as well... the last stronghold of Hamas.” He added, addressing the families of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza: “Your loved ones are always before our eyes. My heart is torn, and we do not stop working for their release for a moment,” he said, adding that “continued military pressure is a necessary condition for their release.”

Netanyahu's statements appeared to be an expression of disagreements with the American administration, which suggests that it is concerned with stopping the war in order to stop the security deterioration it is leading to in the entire Middle East. The disagreement was confirmed by Blinken's statements that he drew the attention of Israeli leaders to the large number of Palestinian civilian deaths, and that he does not agree with to invade Rafah without coordination with Egypt, and that they must give priority to the issue of hostages.

As for the families of the hostages, who had relied a lot on Blinken to succeed in convincing Netanyahu to move towards a deal, they were frustrated and disappointed, and their concern for the fate of the hostages was renewed.

However, Israeli media indicated, on Thursday, that although Netanyahu described the Hamas movement’s proposal for a prisoner exchange deal that includes a ceasefire as “delusional,” “crazy,” and “does not allow for progress,” he did not “close the door” and he did not clearly say that Israel completely rejects the proposal and will stop negotiations on a prisoner exchange.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, Netanyahu “did not announce the cessation of talks or that Israel was giving up on them, nor did he explicitly announce that he would oppose the liberation of Palestinian killers, except for saying that Israel had not pledged to do so.”

The “Walla” website pointed out that “despite the hard line, Netanyahu’s statements would appear to be a prelude to the beginning of negotiations, not stopping them.”

Israeli political sources estimated that Netanyahu’s statements against the Hamas proposal would “legitimize” the continuation of negotiations in the coming days and weeks. One of the sources said, “It is clear that the document drawn up by (Hamas) is a document that Israel cannot accept, but it indicates that the movement is ready to conduct negotiations, and perhaps serious negotiations as well, later.”

Another source considered that Netanyahu’s statements against the Hamas proposal and the number of prisoners that the movement is demanding to be liberated, and in particular Netanyahu’s statements about the expected entry of the Israeli army into Rafah and two other refugee camps, would escalate the pressure on Hamas, “in the hope of softening its positions.”

According to Walla, the US administration intends to continue to exert pressure on Israel, Egypt and Qatar in order to move towards a prisoner exchange agreement, and that the administration realizes that this is the only way to reach a specific ceasefire in Gaza. Because the longer the war continues, Biden’s difficulties in his election campaign increase. In the White House, they also realize that without a ceasefire, there is no possibility of achieving Biden’s plan for “the next day” in the Gaza Strip after the war. Therefore, at this stage, they prefer not to enter into clashes and work to advance the negotiations, so that each party confronts its internal opposition without Washington’s interference or involvement.