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Hamas Calls for Comprehensive Deal Amid Ongoing Gaza Conflict
CAIRO (Reuters) – A senior official from Hamas has expressed the group’s desire for a thorough agreement to conclude the ongoing conflict in Gaza, emphasizing the need for a complete exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. This stance comes as Hamas rejects Israel’s proposal for a temporary truce.
Khalil Al-Hayya, the Gaza chief of Hamas and head of its negotiation team, announced during a televised address that the group would no longer entertain interim agreements. This refusal to compromise is anticipated to complicate negotiations and prolong the violence that has recently escalated.
Al-Hayya outlined that Hamas is prepared to enter into “comprehensive package negotiations,” aiming for the release of all remaining hostages held by the group in exchange for a cessation of hostilities, the release of Palestinian inmates, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Critiquing the Israeli leadership, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Al-Hayya accused them of using partial agreements as a means to further their political objectives, which he characterized as a relentless campaign of destruction and starvation. “We will not be part of passing this policy,” he asserted, signaling Hamas’s commitment to a more robust negotiation framework.
Efforts by Egyptian mediators to revive a ceasefire agreement from January, which had previously halted hostilities before collapsing in recent weeks, have shown limited progress. Both parties continue to hold each other responsible for the impasse.
National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt remarked, “Hamas’s comments demonstrate they are not interested in peace but perpetual violence,” emphasizing that the conditions set by the prior U.S. administration remain unchanged: either release the hostages or face severe consequences.
Recent discussions in Cairo aimed at restoring the ceasefire and addressing the hostage situation did not yield significant advancements, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources.
Israel has proposed a 45-day truce, intended to facilitate the release of hostages and possibly initiate indirect talks to conclude the conflict. However, Hamas has already dismissed one of the essential conditions—cessation of armed resistance. Al-Hayya criticized Israel’s counterproposals as presenting “impossible conditions.”
In the context of past negotiations, Hamas had previously released 38 hostages during a ceasefire that began on January 19. Nevertheless, following the breakdown of this agreement due to Hamas’s refusal to accept extensions without a broader resolution to the war, Israeli military operations resumed in March.
Israeli officials have stated that military actions will persist until the remaining 59 hostages are rescued and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas, on the other hand, insists it will release hostages only as part of a negotiated settlement leading to the end of hostilities.
Latest Developments in the Conflict
As military actions continue, Hamas reported losing contact with militants holding Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage, after an Israeli strike targeted their location. Alexander is a 21-year-old soldier originally from New Jersey.
The armed wing of Hamas subsequently issued a video warning families of hostages that, without change in conditions, their “children will return in black coffins with their bodies torn apart from shrapnel from your army.”
Israeli military operations have resulted in significant casualties, with local health authorities noting at least 32 Palestinian deaths on Thursday alone, including women and children. One strike reportedly killed six individuals and injured others at a UN-operated school in Jabalia, as the Israeli military claimed the site housed a Hamas command center.
The current warfare was precipitated by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left at least 1,200 individuals dead and over 250 taken hostage. Since that time, local health authorities report that the Israeli offensive has resulted in the deaths of over 51,000 Palestinians.
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