A SENIOR Hamas official insisted late Saturday that the group would “not agree under any circumstances” to a truce in Gaza that did not explicitly include a complete end to the war.
The official, who asked not to be named, decried Israeli efforts to obtain a deal on releasing hostages “without linking it to ending the aggression on Gaza”.
“Hamas will not agree under any circumstances to an agreement that does not explicitly include a cessation of the war on Gaza,” the official said.
“There will be no agreement without a complete cessation of the war and the withdrawal of the occupation from the entire Gaza Strip.”
A high-level Israeli official said earlier Saturday that Hamas’s failure to give up its demand to end the war was “thwarting 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.
The Israeli official however said the country would only send a delegation to Cairo if it saw “positive movement” on the framework for a hostage deal, something that did not appear to be the case.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been waiting for Hamas to respond to a proposal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, according to details released by Britain.
Despite months of shuttle diplomacy between the warring parties, the mediators have been unable to broker a new truce like the week-long ceasefire that saw 105 hostages released last November, the Israelis among them in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.
The Hamas official said late Saturday the 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 until now,” the official said.
