The U.S., Israel’s top ally, said it instead hopes to broker a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas, and envisions a wider resolution on the war sparked by the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Hamas’ demands “delusional.”
Netanyahu also opposes Palestinian statehood, which the U.S. calls a key element in a broader vision for the normalization of relations between Israel and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia. His Cabinet adopted a declaration Sunday saying Israel “categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians” and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the Gaza offensive until Israel achieves a “total victory” over the Hamas militant group and plans to expand it to Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half the enclave’s 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.