Netanyahu says permanent ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war won't happen until Hamas is destroyed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Saturday put out a statement saying that it would not agree to a permanent ceasefire in the ongoing war in Gaza unless Hamas was destroyed. 

The statement said that a permanent ceasefire deal prior to "the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities" is "a non-starter," according to Reuters.

On Friday, President Joe Biden announced the terms of a deal that he said Israel had proposed and that he hoped Hamas would accept. But the statement from Netanyahu's office on Saturday cast doubt as to whether Israel and the U.S. were on the same page in terms of what the proposal called for. 

Biden had said that the deal involved an initial six-week ceasefire while Israel would partially withdraw its military and Hamas would release some of the hostages, followed by negotiations for "a permanent end to hostilities."

He said that the proposal "creates a better 'day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power."

"Our proposal to end the war in Gaza begins with a complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas in Gaza, the release of hostages and hostage remains, the ability for Palestinians to return to Gaza, and a surge of humanitarian assistance," he wrote on the social media platform, X. 

Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi said that he has not received any information about the details of the proposal as of Friday, Reuters reports. 

"No agreement can be reached before the demand for the withdrawal of the occupation army and a ceasefire is met," he said.