Jerusalem:
A senior Hamas official stressed late Saturday that the group would “under no circumstances” agree to a ceasefire in Gaza that did not explicitly end the war completely.
The official, who asked not to be named, denounced Israeli efforts to reach an agreement on the release of hostages “without linking it to an end to the aggression against Gaza.”
“Hamas will not under any circumstances agree to any agreement that does not explicitly include an end to the war on Gaza,” the official said.
“No agreement will be reached without a complete cessation of the war and the withdrawal of the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip.”
A senior Israeli official said earlier Saturday that Hamas's failure to meet its demands for an end to the war was “hindering the possibility of reaching an agreement.”
The comments came after Hamas negotiators returned to Egypt on Saturday to give their response to a proposed pause in the nearly seven-month war.
However, the Israeli official said the country would only send a delegation to Cairo if it saw “positive movement” on the framework for a hostage agreement, something which did not appear to be the case.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been waiting for Hamas' response to a proposal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, details released by Britain show.
Despite months of shuttle diplomacy between the warring sides, mediators have been unable to broker a new ceasefire, as in the week-long ceasefire that saw the release of 105 hostages last November, including Israelis in exchange for Palestinians who were held by Israel.
The Hamas official said late Saturday that talks had ended for the day after “no developments.”
“Hamas has requested that the agreement include a clear and explicit provision stating: 'Agreement on a complete and permanent ceasefire,' and so far Israel has rejected this point,” the official said.
Fear Rafah
Hamas has said a major stumbling block is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on sending ground troops to Rafah, the southern Gaza city packed with displaced civilians.
Washington has repeatedly said it opposes any military operation in Rafah that endangers the 1.2 million civilians sheltering there.
“We would like to reach an agreement, but not at any price,” the Hamas official said, adding that if no deal is reached, Israel would “bear full responsibility for pushing for access to Rafah instead of abandoning it.” of aggression”.
Netanyahu “personally” obstructed a ceasefire deal in Gaza because of “personal interests,” the source accused, warning that if Israel goes ahead with plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, it would be at its own peril.
“We affirm that the invasion of Rafah will not be a walk in the park, and that the occupation will pay a high price for any adventure it undertakes, and that it will end in failure.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)