The tense talks for a second temporary truce in the war in Gaza appear to have broken down after Hamas officials became incensed over Israel’s comments that the fighting will resume regardless of a cease-fire.
While negotiations to release as many as 40 hostages appeared to be heading in a positive direction yesterday, Hamas officials said Thursday that they would not discuss any hostage exchange deal “except after a full cessation of aggression.”
It echoed Hamas senior official Ghazi Hamad’s recent comments to Al Jazeera, where he accused the Jewish State of trying to lure the terrorist group into a temporary pause rather than seek an end to the war devastating Gaza.
“Some people are looking for a small pause — a pause here and there for one week, two weeks, three weeks,” Hamad said. “But we want to stop the aggression [completely].”
“Israel will take the card of the hostages and after that they will start a new round of mass killing and massacres against our people,” he added. “We will not play this game.”
Hamas’ rejection came following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech Wednesday night, where he reiterated that regardless of any cease-fire, the war will not end until the terrorist group is eradicated.
“Whoever thinks that we will stop is detached from reality,” Netanyahu said. “We are continuing the war to the end. It will continue until Hamas is eliminated — until victory.”
The comments come as Egyptian and Qatari negotiators remain in talks with Israeli and Hamas representatives in an attempt to broker a deal to release 40 additional hostages in exchange for a temporary truce, the freedom of Palestinian prisoners, and more aid to arrive in Gaza.
“Serious talks between Israel and Hamas through mediators are ongoing in an attempt to break the deadlock, but progress remains slow and there is yet to be a significant breakthrough,” a source briefed on the talks told the Financial Times.
The Jewish state believes that there are still 128 hostages in Gaza, not all of them alive, following the weeklong truce agreement that resulted in 105 captives being freed last month.
On Tuesday, all three major Israeli TV networks presented the Jewish state’s negotiating goals revealing that their government wants to see Hamas free specific hostages, including women, seniors, and those with physical or mental illnesses.
President Biden told reporters yesterday that the US was also pushing for Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire deal as reports surfaced that the death toll in Gaza surpassed 20,000.
“We’re pushing it. There’s no expectation at this point, but we are pushing,” Biden said