Hamas guarantees that it will only release more hostages with a ceasefire

A Hamas’ priority is to stop the aggression of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip “once and for all” and that this has been made known to all mediators, Osama Hamdan told Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera in response to news published by Israeli media outlets that Hamas was negotiating a new agreement for the release of hostages.

For this reason, he reiterated, there is currently no talk of a prisoner exchange, stressing that the cessation of fighting in Gaza is a precondition for this to happen, said the same media outlets.

The Hamas representative also denied that a possible release was discussed in exchange for a month-long ceasefire, allegations that were published in Israeli media outlets.

Hamdan had already affirmed, in mid-December, this position of Hamas, stressing that all issues “can be negotiated”.

On October 7, Hamas commandos launched a terrorist attack on Israeli soil, during which they killed 1,139 people, most of them civilians, according to the most recent report from Israeli authorities.

Around 250 people were also kidnapped that day and taken to Gaza, 129 of whom are still held captive by the movement, in power in the Palestinian enclave since 2007.

Israel declared war on Hamas and more than 21,500 people have died in bombings in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians, said Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel, the United States and the European Union.

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