The Palestinian Hamas resistance group criticizes Israel’s “obstinate” stance regarding ceasefire talks, saying the regime’s latest proposal for a deal on the Gaza Strip to end aggression fails to meet any of Palestinians’ demands.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Hamas appreciated the significant efforts made by Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo.
Hamas is “keen to reach an agreement that ends the aggression,” it said, adding, however, that Israel “remains obstinate and has not responded to any of the demands of our people and our resistance.”
The resistance movement, it noted, is responsibly studying Israel’s proposal and will deliver its response to the mediators once its review is completed.
Meanwhile, a Hamas official told Reuters that the Cairo negotiations have been at a deadlock due to Israel’s refusal to agree to a permanent truce, the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza, the unrestricted return of all Palestinians to the territory’s northern areas and the lifting of a 17-year-old blockade on the coastal sliver.
These steps take precedence over Israel’s demand for the release of captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian abductees held in the regime’s prisons, said the official who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
On Monday, a Hamas source said the latest proposal brokered in Cairo would see a six-week Gaza ceasefire and 40 Israeli captives freed in a swap with up to 900 Palestinian abductees.
The source added that the proposal would also allow the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and the delivery of 400 to 500 trucks of food aid a day to its people.
Israel waged its genocidal US-backed war on the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7 after Hamas carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
So far, the occupying regime has killed at least 33,207 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 75,933 others.
