BREAKING: Netanyahu Rejects Ceasefire Demands, Will Pursue 'Absolute Victory' Against Hamas

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference where he explained that his government would not accept the ceasefire agreement currently under negotiation with the United States and Hamas and instead would focus on securing "absolute victory" in Gaza.

"We are on the way to complete victory. The victory is within reach," Netanyahu told reporters, adding that he predicts the war to be concluded within the next few months. "We will continue until the end. There is no other solution besides complete victory." The Israeli prime minister went on to emphasize that the Israeli Defense Forces' main goals in the conflict are to eliminate Hamas, return the hostages to their families, and ensure that a threat to Israel no longer remains from Gaza. He went on to explain that the defeat of the terrorist organzation will be a “victory of the entire free world” and that any ceasefire plans would be a disaster, as reported by The Times of Israel.

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, negotiations for a potential ceasefire have been underway for many weeks, and various leaks have created a picture of what could have been. Hamas signaled that it was unlikely to reject a hostage deal but stipulated that it must come with the guarantee that Israel would end the war. Qatari and Egyptian negotiators presented Hamas with the ceasefire proposal from Israel and the United States last month in Paris. The ceasefire agreement, however, is now dead following Netanyahu's rejection of the deal. Hamas will seemingly get its wish of Israel ending the war, but not in the way that it hoped.