Cairo: Hamas' Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya has announced that the group is ready to negotiate the immediate release of all hostages in exchange for a specified number of Palestinians incarcerated by Israel, as part of a broader deal to end the ongoing conflict in Gaza. In a televised address, Al-Hayya, who leads Hamas' negotiating team for indirect talks with Israel, rejected the notion of an interim truce.
“Netanyahu and his government are using partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is aimed at continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if it costs the lives of all their prisoners (hostages). We will not be part of supporting this policy,” Al-Hayya said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Egyptian mediators have been working to revive the ceasefire agreement initially made in January, which had halted fighting in Gaza before it broke down last month. However, efforts to restore peace have shown little progress, with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the lack of a deal. Monday’s latest round of talks in Cairo aimed at restoring the ceasefire and securing the release of Israeli hostages ended with no apparent breakthrough, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources.
Al-Hayya further revealed that Hamas had accepted a proposal from mediators Qatar and Egypt, which involved releasing some hostages in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel and initiating talks on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. This phase would involve ending the war and withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza. He criticized Israel's counterproposal, calling it "unreasonable" and presenting “impossible conditions.”