Netanyahu says Hamas’ demands on hostage and ceasefire deal are ‘delusional’

By Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman and Tim Lister, CNN

(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Hamas’ proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, calling them “delusional” in a setback to diplomatic efforts to pause the war.

Netanyahu said during a Wednesday briefing: “We haven’t committed to anything. We haven’t committed to any of the delusional demands of Hamas, the numbers of terrorists with blood on their hands [to release].”

“There is not a commitment – there has to be a negotiation, it’s a process, and at the moment, from what I see from Hamas, it’s not happening,” Netanyahu added.

Hamas had presented its response to a proposal for a deal by calling for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the enclave during a four-and-a-half-month truce and a plan to permanently end the war, according to a copy of the group’s counteroffer obtained by CNN.

But Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel’s aim is “complete victory” and the country will “not do less than that.”

“We are on the way to complete victory. The victory is achievable; it’s not a matter of years or decades, it’s a matter of months,” he said.

Netanyahu’s response is likely to be seen as a blow to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting the region amid intensifying efforts aimed at securing a breakthrough in the conflict. However, the Israeli leader did not rule out the possibility of further negotiations.

Hamas will now send a delegation to Cairo to follow up on its proposals for the hostage and ceasefire deal, the group’s spokesman Osama Hamdan said at a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday.

Hamdan said the delegation would travel to Cairo on Thursday “in the context of our keenness to achieve the best results in a way that serves the interests of our people, stops their suffering, and alleviates their pain.”

Speaking in Tel Aviv Wednesday, Blinken suggested negotiations could still move forward, saying he believed Netanyahu’s comments dismissing the Hamas proposal as “delusional” were referring to its “absolute non-starters.”

“Clearly, there are things that Hamas sent back that are absolute non-starters and I assume that’s what the prime minister was referring to, but I don’t want to speak for him,” Blinken said.

He added that there was “space to continue to pursue an agreement, and these things are always negotiations.”

“It’s not flipping a light switch. It’s not yes or no. There’s invariably back and forth,” Blinken said.

A proposal in three phases

The Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza had proposed a three-phase deal, each lasting 45 days, that would also see the gradual release of hostages held in the enclave in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel – including those serving life sentences – as well as the start of a massive humanitarian and rebuilding effort.

Contrary to earlier demands, Hamas did not call for an immediate end to the war. Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would take place during the truce and the remaining hostages would only be released once a final deal to end the war was agreed, the document said.

The proposal was a response to a framework agreement presented by negotiators in Paris at the end of last month. Senior Hamas official Muhammad Nazzal confirmed the text seen by CNN was genuine.

Hamas’ response had put the focus back on Israel, which is under intense pressure from its allies to scale down the war and ease the humanitarian suffering in Gaza. There have been indications that the United States views the Hamas offer positively, but Netanyahu has pledged not to stop the campaign until Israel destroys Hamas once and for all.

He reiterated that stance after his Wednesday address, telling Israeli media that “continuing pressure, military pressure, is a necessary condition. Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands will only ask for another disaster for the state of Israel, another massacre.”

Netanyahu said Israel would be safe only after it “destroys” Hamas. “Not part of Hamas, not half of Hamas, the entire Hamas.”

An Israeli official familiar with the negotiations told CNN earlier on Wednesday there was “no way” his country would accept the Hamas counteroffer.

The Israeli offensive, launched after the Hamas attack four months ago, has taken an immense humanitarian toll on the strip, with tens of thousands dead and the population of Gaza on the brink of famine.

A weeklong truce in November saw the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Israel believes 132 hostages taken during the October 7 attacks remain in Gaza, 29 of whom are thought to have been killed.

‘There won’t be any hostages to release’

Netanyahu’s position was criticized on Wednesday by the Israeli former hostage Adina Moshe, who said there “won’t be any hostages to release” if his government continued its plan to completely eliminate Hamas.

Moshe, 72, who was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz and held hostage in Gaza for seven weeks, spoke at a press conference for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, directing her comments specifically to Netanyahu.

“Mr. Netanyahu, I’m turning to you. It’s all in your hands. You are the one. You’re the one who can. And I’m really afraid that if you continue the way you do, the destruction of Hamas, there won’t be any hostages to release,” Moshe said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters also delivered a message directly to Netanyahu and the Israeli War Cabinet in a press release on Wednesday. “If the hostages are not returned home: the citizens of Israel should know they live in a state that is not committed to their security, that the mutual responsibility in it has died,” the families forum said. “They who do not protect their citizens will find that their citizens lose faith in them and their leadership.”

“The price is unbearable, but the price of abandoning the hostages will be a historic stain for generations to come,” the forum added.

US not among Hamas’ proposed guarantors

Under Hamas’ counterproposal, the first phase of the ceasefire would have included the release of hostages in Gaza including women and children under 19 years old who aren’t enlisted in the Israeli military, as well as the elderly and the sick, in exchange for all Palestinian female, juvenile, sick and elderly Palestinian prisoners as well as 500 prisoners named by Hamas, including those with life sentences and convictions for serious crimes.

It would also include intensifying humanitarian aid, moving Israeli forces “outside populated areas,” a “temporary cessation” of military operations and aerial reconnaissance, the start of reconstruction work, and allowing the United Nations and its agencies to provide humanitarian services and establish housing camps.

It would also see the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes in all areas of the Strip and would ensure freedom of movement without obstruction.

In addition, this first phase would include starting indirect talks on “the requirements necessary for a complete ceasefire” and negotiations on the details for the second and third phases.

The second phase, Hamas proposed, would see the conclusion of talks on a cessation of hostilities. During the second phase, all male hostages in Gaza (civilians and military personnel) would be released “in exchange for a specified number of Palestinian prisoners” and Israeli forces would have to completely exit the enclave.

Phase three would aim to exchange bodies and remains of those killed on both sides. It also stipulates that all crossings from the Gaza Strip be opened for trade to resume and so people can move without obstacles. Israel would commit to provide Gaza with its electricity and water needs.

Finally, Hamas proposed that the guarantors of the agreement would be Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Russia and the United Nations. It did not include the US among the guarantors.

Hamas’ counterproposal had earlier been met with optimism by those involved in the negotiations, though President Joe Biden had described it as “a little over the top” in remarks to the press on Tuesday.

Before Netanyahu’s remarks on Wednesday, several Israel-based civil society groups and human rights organizations had called for an immediate ceasefire, and demanded the release of hostages held in the enclave, saying a pause in fighting would assist access to vital aid to address the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip.

“In more than 120 days of war in Gaza, following Hamas’ egregious attack on October 7, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and internationals, we have witnessed Israeli bombardments and siege policy causing unfathomable death and destruction in the Gaza Strip,” said the statement, which was published jointly by 17 Israeli based groups including ‘B’Tselem’, ‘Combatants for Peace’ and ‘Breaking the Silence.’

This is a breaking news story and will be updated

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CNN’s Richard Allen Greene in Jerusalem contributed reporting