Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas' latest ceasefire proposal in Gaza.  But US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the path to a successful ceasefire was still open.  British news agency Reuters reported this on Thursday (February 8).

At a press conference on Wednesday (February 7), he called the Hamas proposal misleading.  Reiterating his commitment to destroy the Islamist movement, he said, Israel has no other option but the fall of Hamas. 

He also said at the press conference that only a complete victory against Hamas could bring an end to the four-month war.  If Hamas survives in Gaza, it must be prepared for another massacre later, he said.

A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, described Netanyahu's comments as political wildness that would further escalate conflicts in the region.

On Wednesday, Hamas proposed a three-phase, four-and-a-half-month ceasefire in Gaza.  The proposal included the release of all Israeli hostages, the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza, and an agreement between the two sides to end the war.  But Netanyahu could not agree on the release of 1500 Hamas fighters imprisoned in Israeli prisons.

Reuters first reported on the new Hamas proposal.  Qatari and Egyptian mediators sent Hamas a cease-fire proposal last week drawn up by US and Israeli spy chiefs.  In response, Hamas sent a new proposal on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in a late-night press conference at a Tel Aviv hotel, Hamas' proposal contained viable elements that could be negotiated.  However, he did not specify what the effective ingredients were.

He said whether a fruitful agreement can be reached is still up for discussion.  Blinken met with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday.

Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said a delegation led by senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya will travel to Cairo on Thursday to negotiate with Egypt and Qatar, the mediators on the ceasefire.