JERUSALEM — Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a temporary ceasefire in the conflict with Hamas.

Speaking during a televised address, Netanyahu said he would not agree to such a move until the hostages Hamas took during its attack on Israel on 7 October were released.

He was speaking moments after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated calls for "humanitarian pauses" in the conflict to allow for more aid into Gaza. Blinken also said such pauses could create a "better environment in which hostages can be released".

Blinken said the details of how the pauses would work were being "ironed out" and that Israel had "legitimate questions" about how they would work.

But Netanyahu said: "Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire that does not include the return of our hostages."

While formal ceasefires are usually longer-term arrangements that allow parties to engage in dialogue, humanitarian pauses can last as little as a few hours.

Blinken also said "humanitarian pauses" in the conflict are "critical" for protecting civilians and have been an "important area of discussion" with Israeli leaders.

He said the US believes such pauses will enable more aid to flow into Gaza.

"We see it as a way also... of creating a better environment in which hostages can be released," he added.

Blinken added that a number of "legitimate questions" were raised by Israeli officials around the pauses, including how they can be used to maximizee the delivery of aid, help free hostages, and not be taken advantage of by Hamas.

Meanwhile, the leader of Hezbollah, the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon, has broken his silence on the Israel-Gaza war.

In a speech from a secret location, watched by thousands at a rally in Lebanon's capital Beirut, Hassan Nasrallah praised the 7 October attacks in Israel that killed 1,400 people.

He said the actions of Hamas were "right, wise and just" but described the attacks on Israel as "100% Palestinian".

In his speech, he railed against the United States, saying it was responsible for the war in Gaza. — BBC