Israel Reportedly Rejects New US Ceasefire Proposal, Citing ‘Impossible’ Hamas Demands

On Sunday President Trump declared once again that he wants to end the Gaza war “as quickly as possible,” stating publicly what he had long previously been saying privately, according to Axios.

Sky News Arabia is among several outlets to cite unnamed sources Sunday into Monday as saying Trump is likely to announce a new big ceasefire deal, which aims to see the rest of the Israeli hostages come home, within the next days.

“We want to see if we can stop that. And Israel, we’ve been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One. He then said he hopes he can give the world good news soon.

But at the moment Israel’s government and military seems set on implementing an expanded offensive and occupation of the Gaza Strip. Axios cites the following:

• An IDF official told reporters Sunday that in two months the IDF will occupy 75% of the Strip.
• The official said most of Hamas’ military command has been wiped out but its core fighting brigades are still functioning.

The reality also is that tens of thousands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants are still operational, utilizing the Strip’s vast tunnel network to wage a guerilla-style insurgency.

On Monday, Israeli and other regional media are reporting that Israel is already rejecting Trump’s reported plan, citing the “impossible conditions” still being set by Hamas, and the continued threat to Israeli national security and sovereignty.

The Times of Israel writes in a fresh report:

Responding to a Lebanese report that a new outline for a hostage and ceasefire proposal had been agreed upon in principle by Israel, a senior Israeli official said Monday the deal has been rejected.

“The proposal received by Israel cannot be accepted by any responsible government,” the official told the media, without giving any further details.

“Hamas is setting impossible conditions that mean a complete failure to meet the war goals, and an inability to release the hostages,” he said.

Like with the Ukraine war, President Trump has expressed increasing frustration over the Gaza situation. He wants to ‘stop the killing’ – and yet has continued massive amounts of arms and money flowing to one side of the war (the Israelis of course).

Meanwhile, internal unrest over Netanyahu’s commitment to war grows…

Given the gruesome and heart-wrenching images of dead civilians and even children burning to death which continue to come out of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the White House could just be responding to international pressure. No deal at this point seems to have any real potential at getting the warring sides to agree. Things continue to slide amid already hellish conditions in Gaza.

Increasingly, conflict is being renewed in the West Bank as well, amid fears of a new intifada which would see the Israelis go to war on several fronts. While Lebanon has been relatively quiet, Israeli warplanes have sporadically renewed attacks on sites in Beirut and south Lebanon.