Netanyahu calls Hamas’ demands “ridiculous” and continues with plans for a ground invasion of Rafah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected the latest ceasefire deal proposed by Hamas, calling its demands “ridiculous” and saying Israel would move forward with plans for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of the enclave’s population lives there. is taking shelter.

Still, Mr. Netanyahu signaled he was open to more talks. He announced that he is sending an Israeli delegation back to Qatar, where mediation efforts are taking place.

The prime minister’s response came a day after Hamas made a counter-offer to Israel aimed at securing a ceasefire and a hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In a statement, Hamas said it had presented to mediators in Qatar a “comprehensive vision” for a ceasefire in the five-month war, which has devastated the Gaza Strip and cost at least 30,000 lives there. It gave no details about its new proposal.

Within hours, Netanyahu’s office said that “Hamas continues to adhere to unrealistic demands.” Then, on Friday, Mr. Netanyahu released a second statement saying, “As for the hostages, Hamas’s demands are still ridiculous,” without elaborating.

Armistice talks have been stalled for weeks, despite efforts by officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar to reach an agreement. Hamas has pushed for a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire before any hostage-for-prisoner exchanges could take place. Israel has rejected these conditions.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken confirmed during a visit to Vienna that Hamas had made a counterproposal, but said he could not reveal the details.

The United States is working “intensively” with Israel, Qatar and Egypt “to bridge remaining gaps,” he said. Israel’s decision to send a negotiating team to Qatar “reflects the sense of possibility – and urgency – to reach an agreement.”

A week-long ceasefire was successfully negotiated in late November, when Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in fighting and an exchange of more than 100 hostages and 240 captured Palestinians. Diplomats tried to extend the ceasefire, but it collapsed and fighting resumed in early December.

Mr Netanyahu is under increasing international pressure to end the war and limit civilian deaths. President Biden has become more forceful in recent days in his call for Israel to alleviate the plight of civilians in Gaza, who face severe hunger and continue to die in Israeli airstrikes.

The US president has urged Netanyahu not to go ahead with his plans to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been confined to temporary shelters.

But Netanyahu has vowed to reject international pressure to abandon a ground operation in Rafah, which Israel says is one of Hamas’s last major strongholds. On Friday, Mr. Netanyahu said he had approved plans for a military operation in Rafah and that Israeli forces were also preparing “for the evacuation of the population.”

Michael Crowley reporting contributed.