“The fact that Hamas is asking for a cease-fire for Israelis to withdraw its forces, that’s something that Israel will never agree to,” the source in Netanyahu's office said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Hamas' demands and Israel’s apparent rejection injects new pessimism into hostage negotiations that had been hammered out by intelligence chiefs and leading politicians from four nations in Paris nearly two weeks ago, including CIA Director William Burns.