The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that he will not accept an agreement that includes an end to the war in Gaza. as reported by Israeli media.

According to senior US and Israeli officials, Netanyahu said that if Hamas insists on ending the war, the deal will not be accepted and Israel will be forced to launch a military attack on Rafah, Israel’s Walla news agency reported. It is recalled that one of the main demands of Hamas in the negotiations is a permanent ceasefire.

Anthony Blinken has been holding regular meetings with Israeli leaders in an effort to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying “the time is now” for a deal that would free prisoners and bring an end to the war.

However, Benjamin Netanyahu makes it clear once again that the invasion of Rafah will take place anyway. It is recalled that yesterday, Tuesday, Israel declared that it will carry out an operation against Hamas in the southern city of Rafah, Gaza, regardless of whether or not an agreement is reached for a cease-fire for 40 days and the release of the hostages, dynamiting the landscape at the time when the expected Hamas response to Israeli proposal for ceasefire and hostage exchange.

“Stopping the war before achieving all goals is out of the question,” the Israeli prime minister said in a statement released by his office.

Hamas: Very soon the answer to the proposal for a truce – We want an end to the war

Hamas will respond to the Israeli proposal for a truce “within a very short period of time”, an official of the organization said, but repeated the demand for an end to the war.

Hamas is considering a plan that calls for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of many hostages for more Palestinian prisoners.

Suhail al-Hidi, a senior Hamas official, told AFP the group would “clearly give its answer in a very short time.”

Speaking to AFP by phone from an undisclosed location, he said it was too early to say whether Hamas envoys, who have returned from talks in Cairo to their base in Qatar, believe progress has been made.

In the same statement, al-Hindi reiterated that Hamas’ goal remains “the end of the war,” a demand that contradicts Israel’s determination to press ahead with its ground offensive in southern Gaza.