Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected proposals for a cease-fire in Gaza, as he ordered Israeli troops to head to Rafah in the Gaza Strip, despite global concerns about further worsening the already catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the blockaded enclave.
As the war entered a fifth month, Netanyahu told a televised briefing that he had ordered troops to "prepare to operate" in Rafah and that a "total victory" by Israel over Hamas was just months away.
But he warned that accepting the Hamas group's "bizarre demands" for a cease-fire would not lead to the return of hostages.
"It will only invite another massacre," Netanyahu said.
The comments appeared to dampen U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's hopes for a cease-fire and hostage release deal, even as he cautioned that more negotiations were needed.
"There's a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work and hopefully being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted" after a week-long truce in November, Blinken said after talks with Netanyahu and other members of his war cabinet in Jerusalem.
An Egyptian official told AFP that "a new round of negotiations" would start on Thursday in Cairo aimed at achieving "calm in the Gaza Strip".
A Hamas source with knowledge of the matter said the Palestinian resistance group had agreed to the talks, with the goal of "a cease-fire, an end to the war and a prisoner exchange deal."
Last week, a Hamas source said the proposed new truce calls for a six-week pause to fighting and a hostage-prisoner exchange, as well as more aid for Gaza, but negotiations have continued since.
Blinken, on his fifth Middle East tour since the Oct. 7 attack, also made a new plea for more aid into Gaza, whose 2.4 million people have endured a crippling siege and severe shortages of clean water, food, fuel and medical supplies.
"We all have an obligation to do everything possible to get the necessary assistance to those who so desperately need it," Blinken said, "and the steps that are being taken – additional steps that need to be taken – are the focus of my own meetings here."
Blinken later traveled to the occupied West Bank where he met Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.
Netanyahu after conflict in Middle East: Hamas
Remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissing the latest offer by Hamas for a cease-fire in Gaza show he intends to pursue conflict in the Middle East, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
"Netanyahu's comments are a form of political bravado, indicating his intention to pursue the conflict in the region," Abu Zuhri said.
"The movement (Hamas) is prepared to deal with all options."