Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “cannot accept” Hamas’ demand that the truce deal end the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
Representatives of Hamas, Qataris, Egyptians and Americans met in Cairo to discuss the contours of a new truce. The Palestinian movement demands an immediate end to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is determined to launch an attack on the town of Rafah, located in the far south of the Palestinian enclave, said:
“Israel cannot accept Hamas’s demand.We are not prepared to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their hole, regain control of Gaza, rebuild their military infrastructure and resume threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding communities, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country. In this case, the next October 7 is only a matter of time.” He added.
On Sunday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of sabotaging mediation efforts for a truce in Gaza combined with the release of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave.
Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the Israeli prime minister wanted “inventing constant justifications for the continuation of the aggression, the extension of the conflict and the sabotage of the efforts made by the various mediators and parties.
The mediators’ offer, presented to Hamas at the end of April, provides for a temporary truce associated with the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for that of hostages kidnapped during the Hamas attack on October 7, which sparked the war.
But a few hours before the resumption of negotiations in Cairo on Sunday, a Hamas official affirmed that his movement would not accept “in no case an agreement not explicitly providing for an end to the war”.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is very worrying, affected by extreme shortages of water, food, medicine and other basic needs. According to the UN, the north of the Palestinian enclave is plunged into famine, which risks becoming widespread.
The Hamas Ministry of Health reported on Sunday a new death toll of 34,683 in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7.
At least 29 additional deaths in 24 hours were recorded, according to a press release from the ministry which reported 78,018 wounded in nearly seven months of war.
