Hamas official Osama Hamdan said there is no need for further negotiations with Israel, amid Israeli media reports that there is an intention to resume truce talks in Gaza.
In a telephone interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Arabic on Saturday, Hamdan said the immediate need was for Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and for all aggression to cease.
“We don’t need further negotiations,” he said, adding that Hamas had already accepted a ceasefire proposal that Israel had rejected.
“There is no guarantee that it (Israel) will accept new proposals to begin negotiations… If there are no serious guarantees, this means giving Israel more time to continue the aggression,” he added.
Earlier this month, Hamas approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the seven-month-old Gaza war, presented by mediators Qatar and Egypt, although Israel said the proposal did not meet to his requirements.
On Saturday, according to Israeli media, officials involved in the negotiations said the Israeli government intended to resume negotiations for a deal to release Gaza captives in the coming days, after a meeting with mediators in Paris.
According to reports, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea has agreed to a new framework for stalled negotiations with mediators – CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The new offer was drafted by the Israeli negotiating team and contains possible solutions to areas of disagreement in previous discussions. But Defense Ministry officials believe that even if Israel agrees to a temporary ceasefire, it will be able to resume the war if necessary, after months.
Hamas insisted it was not willing to accept just a temporary ceasefire, but that the end of the fighting must be permanent.
Israel has insisted the war will not end until its goals are achieved, including the total defeat of Hamas. However, Israel is under increasing international pressure to stop and is increasingly isolated. Recent blows to Israel include an order from the International Court of Justice to stop its Rafah offensive, with the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, and a decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain recognizes Palestine.
Rafah crossing
Meanwhile, Washington said top diplomat Antony Blinken also spoke with Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz about new efforts to achieve a ceasefire and reopen the border crossing town of Rafah, in the far south of Gaza.
Al-Qahera News said Cairo was also continuing “its efforts to reactivate ceasefire negotiations and exchange prisoners and detainees.”
He added that Egypt was exerting “all kinds of pressure on Israel to urgently let in aid and fuel” blocked at the Rafah crossing after it was closed by Israel earlier this month.
But a Hamas official denied Israeli media reports that Gaza ceasefire talks would resume in Cairo on Tuesday.
“There is no date,” the anonymous Hamas official told the Reuters news agency when asked about the reports.
Talks aimed at reaching a release of the hostages and a truce deal for Gaza were disrupted this month after Israel launched a military operation in Rafah.
At least 35,903 people have been killed and 80,420 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7.
Israel’s revised death toll from the Hamas attack stands at 1,139, with dozens still in captivity.
Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand urgent government action to repatriate captives held in Gaza, after the bodies of several were found.
Another protest calling for Netanyahu’s resignation and early elections also took place nearby.
Despite immense pressure, Netanyahu and his government have so far failed to reach a deal with Hamas, with many critics doubting their willingness to reach an agreement.
