Hamas Refuses to Ceasefire Without Israel Ending Gaza War

GAZA – Hamas will not agree to any terms of a ceasefire that do not explicitly include a complete cessation of the war in Gaza by Israel.

This was conveyed by a senior Hamas official on Saturday evening, who asked not to be named.

He criticized Israel’s efforts to reach an agreement on the release of the hostages without linking it to ending aggression in Gaza.

“Hamas will under no circumstances agree to an agreement that does not explicitly include ending the war in Gaza,” said the senior Hamas official, as quoted by AFPSunday (5/5/2024).

“There will be no agreement without a complete cessation of the war and the withdrawal of occupying forces from the entire Gaza Strip,” he continued.

A top Israeli official said early Saturday that Hamas’ failure to meet its demands to end the war was thwarting the possibility of reaching a deal.

The comments came after Hamas negotiators returned to Egypt on Saturday to give their response to a proposed ceasefire that has lasted nearly seven months.

But Israeli officials said their country would only send a delegation to Cairo if they saw “positive movement” within the framework of the hostage release deal, but this does not appear to have happened.

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States (US) 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 prisons, according to details released by Britain.