O Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “continues to demand an end to the war, the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the Gaza Strip and that Hamas remains intact,” the prime minister’s office said, adding that ” Netanyahu firmly opposes this demand.”
The negotiating team’s reports, he said, “only harden Hamas’ position.”
Also today, Izzat Al Risheq, a member of Hamas’ political cabinet, stated that the organization had not yet received any proposal from mediators, despite “rumors circulating about negotiations”.
Al Risheq insisted on the organization’s demands, which are “the total and permanent cessation of aggression in the entire Gaza Strip, not just in Rafah”, as “the basis and starting point for everything”.
Israel confirmed on Saturday, following an agreement with the United States and Qatar, that it will resume truce negotiations with Hamas next week, suspended since May 10 and without much progress for months, with the aim of trying to reach an agreement about an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, while the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli attack.
The Israeli Government insists on the priority of reaching an agreement for the return of hostages kidnapped in the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 (in which around 1,200 people also died), while the Islamist organization maintains pressure for the put an end to the offensive in the Strip.
Of the 253 kidnapped on October 7, 121 remain in the enclave, around 40 dead according to Israel – more than 70 according to Hamas – and four other hostages held for years, two of them dead.
Since the start of the war, Israel and Hamas only reached a week-long truce in late November, which resulted in the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Additionally, four hostages were released by Hamas in October; three were rescued by the army – two of them in February, in a successful operation in Rafah; and the bodies of 20 hostages were recovered, three of whom were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in December.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2568863/netanyahu-recusa-ceder-as-exigencias-do-hamas-para-fim-da-guerra-em-gaza
