Hamas says negotiations will continue next week, even if Israel “thwarts” the deal to secure a 40-day truce before Ramadan.
Hamas says its delegation has left Egypt, but negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will continue next week until a deal is reached with Israel, which the group says Palestinian, “thwarted” attempts by mediators to broker a deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“The Hamas delegation left Cairo this morning for consultations with the movement’s leaders, as negotiations and efforts continue to end the aggression, repatriate the displaced and provide humanitarian aid to our people,” it said. Thursday a statement from Hamas.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel had “thwarted” efforts to reach a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Egypt during four days of talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Abu Zuhri said Israel rejected Hamas’ demands to end its offensive in the enclave, withdraw its forces and ensure freedom of entry for aid and the return of displaced people.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Israel did not send a delegation to these recent negotiations, during which representatives of Hamas, Qatar and Egypt attempted this week to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for Ramadan, which begins at the beginning of next week.
The deal would see captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza being exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut said: “This round of talks ended without a substantive response or solution for (a) ceasefire or pause in fighting.” »
“It is worth mentioning that the Israelis themselves chose not to send their own delegation to Cairo for this round of negotiations because they were hoping to receive a list of the names of all living captives currently being held in Gaza,” he said. Salhut said. said.
Hamas said meeting the Israeli demand was impossible without a ceasefire because the captives are scattered across the war zone. According to Salhut, reports indicated that a new round of negotiations would take place next week.
At least 1,139 people were killed and around 250 captives were taken during Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7. More than 100 captives were freed during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Hamas has pledged to continue negotiations, but the Palestinian armed group’s leaders have said a ceasefire must be in place before captives are released, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gaza residents must be able to return to the homes they fled.
Despite earlier comments that negotiations were at an impasse, the United States said on Wednesday that a truce was still possible.
“We continue to believe that the obstacles are not insurmountable and that an agreement can be reached…so we will continue to push for an agreement,” said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, in Washington, DC.
Gaza’s health ministry said the number of confirmed Palestinians killed in Israel’s war has surpassed 30,800. It reported 83 deaths in the past 24 hours alone, and witnesses said Israeli bombing continued in Khan Younis and Rafah, in southern Gaza, as well as in areas of the central Gaza Strip.
From Rafah, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud said Thursday that Israel had has returned 47 bodies that were removed from a cemetery near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis when its soldiers stormed the compound last month.
The decomposed remains were buried in Tal as-Sultan, in the western part of Rafah.
“It is a tragedy for people who have already lost so much, and the desecration of cemeteries and bodies is a violation of international law,” Mahmoud reported.