Hamas cease-fire counteroffer is just a demand for Israel to give up the war

Hamas on Saturday announced it had “responded to” the latest ceasefire proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, apparently seeking assurances that Israel won’t simply go back to eliminating it when the 60-day pause is up.Reality check: The terrorists are only talking because they’re losing, badly — losing whatever support they had from ordinary Gazans as well as militarily.Hamas’ main hope is to somehow manipulate Team Trump’s peace efforts into a license to survive — to somehow have the war end with it intact in Gaza, still in power and with its sponsors and enablers again resupplying it.To that end, it aims to leverage President Donald Trump’s hopes to end the bloodshed as well as:Israel’s current offensive has already taken out hundreds more Hamas fighters and yet another round of leadership, including the last Sinwar.The IDF is poised to take full control of Gaza, clear the final bunkers and tunnels and crush the remaining terror brigades.And Jerusalem has cut off Hamas’ resupply, refusing to allow aid to enter Gaza without firm controls that ensure it goes straight to civilians.Not allowing the terrorists to capture it — and to charge civilians for access to any of it — has helped turn the tide of public opinion: Ordinary Gazans increasingly know the war continues only because Hamas won’t surrender or even negotiate a departure of its remaining forces.Witkoff’s latest offer would have Hamas turn over 10 living hostages and a dozen or two bodies, in exchange for 125 terrorists serving life sentences plus another 1,000-plus jailbirds and a 60-day ceasefire and ongoing talks toward a full peace settlement.But Hamas knows full well that Netanyahu won’t end the war until the terrorists are all dead, surrendered or expelled from Gaza: He refuses to allow for any possibility of another Oct.

7, and Israeli public opinion so far supports him.So the terror group’s counteroffer is to demand some kind of guarantee that Washington won’t let...