The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Thursday that it had informed the mediators of its readiness to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip, including a “comprehensive agreement to exchange” prisoners on the condition that Israel stops its bombing.
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Indirect talks that took place in early May between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Movement, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, did not result in a ceasefire agreement linked to the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
“We informed the brokers today [jeudi] Hamas said in a statement, “Our clear position is: If the occupier stops its war and aggression against our people in Gaza, we are ready to reach a comprehensive agreement that includes a comprehensive agreement on exchange.”
The Palestinian movement and other Palestinian factions “will not accept […] Hamas adds: “Negotiations continue in the context of aggression, killing, siege, famine and genocide of our people.”
The intensification of military operations on the ground is hampering the talks. Cairo News Channel, a media outlet close to Egyptian intelligence, reported on Tuesday that Egypt was also continuing its “efforts to revitalize negotiations.”
Hamas also claimed to have shown “flexibility” during previous rounds of indirect negotiations.
In early May, the Palestinian movement accepted a truce proposal presented by the mediators, a few hours before Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt.
Israel subsequently confirmed that this proposal was far from its demands, and reiterated its opposition to a final ceasefire as long as Hamas, which seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, was not defeated.
In its statement on Thursday, Hamas accused Israel of using the negotiations as a “pretext to continue aggression and massacres” against the Palestinians and responding to “our positive position by invading the city of Rafah and occupying its crossing.” By making “remarks intended to obstruct the efforts of mediators.”
