*Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed a pledge to destroy Hamas as he rejected its ceasefire offer 

*But the United States believes a truce agreement is still possible

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas’ latest offer for a ceasefire and return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was still room for negotiation toward an agreement.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, proposed a ceasefire of 4.5 months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.

The Hamas offer, which was first reported by the Reuters news agency, was a response to an earlier proposal drawn up by United States and Israeli spy chiefs and delivered to Hamas last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Israel had previously said it would not pull its troops out of Gaza or end the war until Hamas was wiped out.

But sources close to the negotiations described Hamas as taking a new, three-phase approach to its longstanding demand to end the war, proposing this as an issue to be resolved in future talks rather than a condition for the truce.

According to the offer document seen by Reuters and confirmed by sources it spoke to:

– During the first 45-day phase all Israeli women hostages, males under 19 and the old and sick would be freed, in exchange for Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails. Israel would withdraw troops from Gaza’s populated areas.

– Implementation of the second phase would not begin until the sides conclude indirect talks over the requirements for ending mutual military operations and restoring complete calm.

– The second phase would include the release of remaining male hostages and full Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza. The remains of the dead would be exchanged during the third phase.Calling Hamas’ position “delusional,” Netanyahu renewed a pledge to destroy the Islamist movement, saying there was no alternative for Israel but to bring about its collapse.

“The day after is the day after Hamas. All of Hamas,” he told a press conference, insisting that total victory against Hamas was the only solution to the four-month-old Gaza war.

“Continued military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of the hostages,” Netanyahu said.

A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, described Netanyahu’s remarks as “political bravado” that showed the Israeli leader’s intention to further pursue conflict in the region.

Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said a Hamas delegation led by senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya would travel on Thursday to Cairo for ceasefire talks with mediators Egypt and Qatar. Hamdan urged Palestinian armed factions to go on fighting.

In the only truce to date, lasting a week at the end of November, 110 hostages were released and Israel freed 240 Palestinian prisoners.

*Proposal ‘delusional’: Israeli PM

Blinken’s comments, following a meeting with Netanyahu, suggested forging a truce agreement was not a lost cause.

“There are clearly nonstarters in what (Hamas has) put forward,” Blinken said at a late-night press conference in a Tel Aviv hotel, without specifying what the nonstarters were.

“But we also see space in what came back to pursue negotiations, to see if we can get to an agreement. That’s what we intend to do.”

Blinken met the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday.

Before heading back to the US, Blinken was due to hold meetings in Israel on Thursday, including with family members of hostages still held in Gaza who have clamoured for Netanyahu to make winning their freedom his top priority.

Washington has cast the hostage and truce deal as part of plans for a wider resolution of the Middle East conflict, ultimately leading to reconciliation between Israel and Arab neighbours and creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu rejects a Palestinian state, which Saudi Arabia says is a requirement for the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel.

Israel began its military offensive after Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on 7 October.

Gaza’s health ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, with thousands more feared buried under rubble in Israel’s offensive since then. (Special Broadcasting Service, Australia)