By Athena Papakosta

O Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’s counterproposal for a three-phase ceasefire and pledged once again to continue the war in the Gaza Strip until Israel achieves “total victory”. It was preceded by a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who traveled to the Middle East for the fifth time to push for a ceasefire.

“We are moving towards total victory,” the Israeli prime minister stressed, adding that the Israeli military operation could be a matter of months, not years. “There is no other solution,” emphasized Benjamin Netanyahu, ruling out any agreement whereby Hamas could maintain full or partial control over the Gaza Strip, adding that only Israel can guarantee security in the long term.

“If Hamas survives in Gaza then, it’s only a matter of time until the next massacre,” he pointed out.

As he explained, the Israeli Prime Minister and indeed, as he emphasized, he also told the American Secretary of State, Israel wants the Gaza Strip to be demilitarized with the Israeli Armed Forces being able “wherever and whenever they deem necessary” to operate inside the Palestinian enclave. .

Hamas had earlier counter-proposed a plan for a cease-fire in Gaza that would have included the gradual release of all hostages, the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian enclave and an agreement to finally end the ongoing four-month war. It was preceded by a framework – proposal for a truce tabled last week by Egypt and Qatar with the support of the United States and Israel.

The Secretary of State of the United States discussed yesterday, Wednesday, the Hamas counter-proposal with Mr. Netanyahu during their meeting, while Mr. Blinken had already had live talks with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt, the countries that act as mediators but also the announcement by the representative of the Israeli Armed Forces, Daniel Hagari, of 31 dead out of the 136 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Benjamin Netanyahu granted a second press conference alone after his meeting with Anthony Blinken, which could reflect a steadily cold climate between the two sides, while the US Secretary of State also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. , in Ramallah.

According to the Reuters news agency, a senior Hamas official stressed that what the Israeli prime minister said last night shows that he intends to continue the conflict in the region, adding that the Palestinian organization is ready to face any eventuality.

At the same time, according to the British news network BBC, an Egyptian official, who was not named, said that a new round of negotiations, with the support of Qatar, is expected to start today in Cairo, which calls on all parties to show adaptability . In fact, information from the Hamas side indicates that the senior official of the Islamic Palestinian organization, Khalil Al-Haya, will also travel to Cairo.

For Anthony Blinken there is still room to reach an agreement. The foreign minister stressed that “we will work tirelessly to get to this point” adding that the protection of civilians must be a priority in any Israeli military operation.