World must put pressure on Hamas for truce: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that more pressure should be put on Hamas to accept a new Gaza deal proposal, after the Palestinian militant group said it was only willing to implement a ceasefire free of new conditions.

The chief US negotiator, CIA head William Burns, said on Saturday a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made within several days.

On Wednesday, Hamas' negotiation team met the Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha and reiterated their readiness to implement an "immediate" ceasefire with Israel in Gaza based on a previous US proposal without new conditions from any party, the group said in a statement. “Hamas is trying to hide the fact that it continues to oppose a hostage release deal, and is obstructing it,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

He said Israel had accepted the most recent proposal, while “Hamas rejected it and even murdered six of our hostages in cold blood. The world must demand that Hamas free our hostages immediately,” he said.

The sides have so far failed to reach a deal to end the 11-month-old war, instead trading blame for introducing new demands that have impeded agreements.