Israeli PM 'outright' rejects Hamas conditions for ending war as death toll in Gaza tops 25,000

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include Israel's complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza.

As Israeli planes resumed bombing Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the Israeli leader's refusal to end the military offensive in Gaza "means there is no chance for the return of the [Israeli]captives."

Israel declared war on Hamasafter the militant group launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people and saw an estimated 240 taken into Hamas-controlled Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a bombing campaign and ground invasion that laid waste to entire neighbourhoods in northern Gaza and spread south.Ground operations are now focused on Khan Younisin the south and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.Meanwhile, Hamas has been firing rockets at Israel.

"In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza," Netanyahu said in a statement. "And leaving Hamas intact."

"I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas," hesaid.

A deal brokered in late November by the United States, Qatar and Egypt saw the release of more than 100 of the hostages in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Since that deal ended,Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure to secure the release the 136 hostages who remain in captivity.

The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum demanded in a statement that Netanyahu "clearly state that we will not abandon civilians, soldiers, and others kidnapped in the October debacle."

WATCH |Hamas releases video of purportedlykilled Israeli hostages:

Hamas releases video purportedly of 2 killed Israeli hostages

10 months ago

Duration 0:01

Hamas militants have released unverified video purportedly showing the bodies of two Israeli hostages killed in captivity. Meanwhile, the United Nations warns of the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, saying the collective punishment of Palestinians is unjustified.

"We must advance the deal now," it said. "If the prime minister decides to sacrifice the hostages, he should show leadership and honestly share his position with the Israeli public."

Relatives of the hostages demanded actionat a protest outside Netanyahu's residence.

"We need the government to now fix the problem that they have created and get these hostages home immediately,"said Jon Polin, father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Death tollin Gaza surpasses 25,000

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday that 25,105 Palestinians many of them women and children havebeen killed and 62,681 have been wounded in Israeli strikes since Oct. 7. It does not differentiate between civilian and militant deathsbut says most of those killed have been civilians.

The ministry said 178 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours, one of the deadliest days of the war so far. Israel's military said a soldier was killed in fighting.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday denounced Israel for what he called the "heartbreaking" deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

WATCH | UN says Netanyahu's rejection of 2-state solution is prolonging war:

Netanyahus refusal to consider two-state solution could extend war, UN says

10 months ago

Duration 2:36

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on refusing to consider a two-state solution, something the United Nations says will likely extend the war in Gaza.

"Israel's military operations have spread mass destruction and killed civilians on a scale unprecedented during my time as secretary general," Guterres said.

Israel accuses Hamas of operating in densely populated areas and using civilians as human shields, a charge the Islamist group denies.

Israeli forces and Hamas fighters clashed in several places on Sunday.

Israel's military said soldiers had killed 15 Palestinian gunmen in the north while snipers, backed by air support, had killed a number of militants in Khan Younis,the focus of recent Israeli operations. Hamas dismissed this account.

Palestinians said fighting has raged in Jabalia, northern Gaza, for the past three days. Some buildings caught fire and smoke rose where bombs had fallen.

Along Gaza's southern coast, witnesses said Israeli warships shelled the beach.

In the southern city of Rafah, where more than amillion displaced people are concentrated, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car. Another car was hit in Gaza City, killing three people, health officials said.

WATCH | Hunger crisis in Gaza 'unprecedented,' WFP official says:

Gaza hunger crisis 'unprecedented' in scale, speed, severity: WFP official

10 months ago

Duration 1:16

Arif Husain, chief economist for the World Food Program, told Rosemary Barton Live that 'pretty much everybody' living in Gaza is suffering from hunger, and about a quarter of the population is 'literally starving.'

Violence has also surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Hamas's rival, the Palestinian Authority, has limited self-rule. The Palestinian Health Ministry there said Israeli forces have killed 360 Palestinians since Oct. 7.

The war has displaced some 85 per centof Gaza's residents, with hundreds of thousands packing into UN-run shelters and camps in the southern part of the tiny coastal enclave. UNofficials say a quarter of the population of 2.3 million is starving, as a trickle of humanitarian aid reaches them because of the fighting and Israeli restrictions.

"We struggle to survive bombs, but frankly we try to survive hunger more," Amer, 32, a father of three from northern Gaza, told Reuters. "Finding food for the family, for the children, has become a more challenging adventure than surviving war."

Netanyahudoubles down against statehood

Netanyahuon Sunday took a stronger line on the issue of Palestinian statehood than previously.

"I will not compromise on full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River," he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he spoke with Netanyahu about possible solutions for creation of an independent Palestinian state, suggesting one path could involve a non-militarized government.

WATCH |U.S. stands by Israel despite Netanyahu opposition to Palestinian state:

U.S. stands by Israel despite Netanyahu opposition to Palestinian state

10 months ago

Duration 2:06

The White House says it is standing by Israel despite a very public split with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on what happens with Gaza when the war ends. Canada and the U.S. both call for a two-state solution, but Netanyahu has long rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu appeared on Saturday to push back against Biden's remarks about Palestinian statehood after the war against Hamas in Gaza ends, as the two men do not see eye-to-eye on Palestinians having a state, a solution Biden has advocated to achieve long-term peace.

Netanyahu said that he faced down "international and internal pressures" to change this position.

"My insistence is what prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have posed an existential danger to Israel," Netanyahu said on Sunday.

On Saturday, the UN'sGuterres called the refusal to accept a two-state solution "totally unacceptable."

"The Middle East is a tinderbox. We must do all we can to prevent conflict igniting across the region," hesaid. "And that starts with an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to relieve the suffering in Gaza."