Israel and Hamas may be able to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal within one or two weeks, but such an agreement is not expected to be secured in a day's time, a senior Israeli official said.
Speaking during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, the official said on Wednesday that if the two sides agree to a proposed 60-day ceasefire, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent ceasefire that would require the Palestinian resistance group to disarm.
If Hamas refuses, "we'll proceed" with the carnage, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The remarks come as the US is pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire deal in the blockaded enclave.
Earlier, the Israeli main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, slammed Netanyahu for invoking the so-called "Morag Axis" in southern Gaza as an obstacle to reaching a truce.
"Netanyahu is placing barriers in front of a deal," Lapid said in a radio interview cited by the public broadcaster KAN.
"Now suddenly, the Morag Axis has become the new cornerstone of our existence?" he added sarcastically.
Israeli carnage
Israel has killed over 57,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, so far in besieged Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Some 11,000 Palestinians are feared buried under rubble of annihilated homes, according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.
Experts, however, contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Palestinian authorities in Gaza have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000.
Over the course of the genocide, Israel reduced most of the enclave to ruins and practically displaced all of its population.
It has also blocked the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid, and only allowed the controversial US-backed aid group, which was established to bypass the UN aid work and was condemned as a "death trap."
