Hamas wishes a global agreement to put an end to the war in Gaza and exchange all Israeli hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, said a senior official of the Palestinian militant group, rejecting the offer of provisional truce proposed by Israel.
In a television speech, Khalil Al-Hayya, the group leader in Gaza who heads his negotiation team, said the group would no longer accept provisional agreements, adopting a position that Israel is unlikely to accept and which could further delay the end of the devastating attacks that have resumed in recent weeks.
Instead, Hayya said Hamas was ready to immediately engage in “global negotiations” to release all the hostages still detained in exchange for the end of the war in Gaza, the release of the Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and the reconstruction of Gaza.
“Mr. Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements to hide their political program, which is based on the continuation of the war of extermination and famine, even if that implies sacrificing all his prisoners (hostages),” said Mr. Hayya, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will not participate in the adoption of this policy. »»
Egyptian mediators are trying to relaunch the January ceasefire agreement which had ended the fighting in Gaza before it was broken last month, but little progress was recorded, Israel and Hamas rejecting responsibility.
“Hamas’ comments demonstrate that he is not interested in peace, but by perpetual violence. The conditions set by the Trump administration have not changed: release the hostages or face hell, “said James Hewitt, spokesperson for the National Security Council.
The last series of talks held on Monday in Cairo to restore the ceasefire and release the Israeli hostages ended without notable advances, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said.
Israel had proposed a 45 -day truce in Gaza to allow the release of the hostages and possibly to start indirect talks to end the war. Hamas has already rejected one of its conditions, namely the filing of arms. In his speech, Hayya accused Israel of proposing a counter-proposition accompanied by “impossible conditions”.
Hamas released 38 hostages as part of a cease-fire entered into force on January 19. In March, the Israeli army resumed its terrestrial and air offensive on Gaza, breaking the ceasefire after Hamas rejected the proposals aimed at prolonging the truce without ending the war.
Israeli officials claim that the offensive will continue until the release of the remaining 59 hostages and the demilitarization of Gaza. Hamas insists that it will only release the hostages within the framework of an agreement ending the war and rejected the requests for filing arms.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 32 Palestinians, including women and children throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday, local health authorities said.
One of these strikes killed six people and injured several others in a school managed by the UN in Jabalia, in the north of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said that the strike was aimed at a Hamas command center.
The war was launched by the attack on Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 dead and 251 hostages in Gaza, according to the Israeli balance sheet.
Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities.
