US media: Hamas urgently seeks peace, Netanyahu seizes the opportunity to increase negotiation stakes

According to AXIOS, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has raised demands for a ceasefire and hostage protocol with Hamas. An Israeli official involved in the negotiations said, 'Netanyahu made these tough demands because he wants to exploit Hamas's weaknesses and gain as much advantage as possible from the negotiations. But he may go too far and cause the negotiations to collapse.' Another Israeli official involved in the talks said that Netanyahu does want to reach a protocol but is willing to push the talks to the edge. US and Israeli officials said intelligence indicates that Hamas is more inclined to push for a protocol under heavy military pressure. These officials said that several senior Hamas commanders in Gaza have sent messages to senior Hamas officials in Qatar, stating that the military situation in Gaza is dire and they hope and need a ceasefire.