Hamas has rejected the Israeli ceasefire offer presented earlier this week, according to a senior Hamas official, instead calling for a “comprehensive” proposal to end the war.

Israeli hostages can be released if the Israeli government agrees to end the war, fully withdraw from Gaza, and allow for reconstruction of Gaza.

After Hamas rejected the proposal, Israeli far-right minister for finance Bezalel Smotrich called for a full military escalation in Gaza, urging prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to “open the gates of hell”. “Israel will not surrender to Hamas and will not end the war without total victory,” he said in a statement.