Israel rules out Gaza ceasefire amid talk of hostage deal

Israel ruled out a Gaza ceasefire on Wednesday, with a government spokesperson appearing to push back against media reports of a possible new mediated deal with Hamas under which fighting would be halted in exchange for a hostage release.

"Commenting on reported ceasefire agreements, Israel will not give up on the destruction of Hamas, the return of all the hostages, and there will be no security threat from Gaza towards Israel," the spokesperson, Ilana Stein, said in a briefing.

"There will be no ceasefire. In the past there were pauses for humanitarian purposes. That agreement was breached by Hamas." (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Kate Holton)