Official says Israel committed to comprehensive hostage deal

After Israel received Hamas’s latest ceasefire and hostage-release proposal — a partial framework envisioning a phased release of captives — an Israeli official stresses that Jerusalem’s commitment to a comprehensive deal remains unchanged.

“Israel’s position has not changed — [regarding both] the release of all the hostages and adherence to the other conditions defined for ending the war,” the official says in a statement.

The new proposal reportedly shows a significant scaling back of Hamas’s demands last month that derailed talks in Doha. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this evening that Israel is pressing ahead with its planned expanded military campaign in Gaza and that Hamas is under “immense pressure.”

Netanyahu has stated in recent days that Israel will only accept a comprehensive deal that sees the release of all hostages at once, Hamas’s disarmament, Gaza’s demilitarization, Israeli security control of the Strip, and governance by a body other than the Palestinian Authority.

Notably, however, Netanyahu has not gone on the record to publicly rule out the partial deal being advanced by the Arab mediators since Hamas agreed to the proposal earlier today — an indication that Jerusalem is still weighing its options.