Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas’ conditions for an end to the Gaza war in exchange for the release of hostages held there, labeling such a prospect as “surrender.”

In order to release the remaining hostages, Netanyahu said Hamas was demanding an end to the war, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

“I work on this around the clock. But to be clear: I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas,” he said in a statement on Sunday, adding that agreeing to the terms goes against Israel’s security.

“If we agree to this, our soldiers fell in vain. If we agree to this, we will not be able to guarantee the security of our citizens,” the Prime Minister said.

Out of the 253 hostages Israel says Hamas seized on October 7, Israel believes that 132 are still in Gaza, of whom 104 are thought to be alive.

Israeli Government divisions deepen as Cabinet Minister says defeating Hamas is unrealistic
Netanyahu’s comments come after a Wall Street Journal report said that the US, Egypt and Qatar want Israel to join a new phase of talks with Hamas that would start with the release of hostages and lead to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

They also come amid deepening divisions within Israel’s war cabinet about whether to prioritize bringing hostages home over defeating Hamas, and as thousands protested over the weekend in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s handling of the war.

War Cabinet Minister Gadi Eisenkot last week suggested that the key war aim of defeating Hamas is unrealistic and called for elections within months. Eisenkot also said the government had failed to achieve what he says should be its highest priority: securing the release of the hostages.

It has been more than three months since Israel launched its war against Hamas, which came in response to the group’s brutal October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza on Sunday surpassed 25,000, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the enclave.

Netanyahu’s rejection of Hamas’ conditions follows the Prime Minister’s renewed rejection of future Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied territories on Saturday, after talks with US President Joe Biden about Gaza’s future.

The White House has been pushing Israel to recognize the need for the Palestinians to establish an independent state in areas Israel captured in the 1967 war.

“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan – and this is contrary to a Palestinian state,” Netanyahu said in a post Saturday on X.

Netanyahu’s public rejection of a Palestinian state has placed him at odds with Israel’s staunchest ally, which has long advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.