BEIRUT (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on Thursday that his Movement would not retreat from its demand for an end to Israeli aggression and achieving a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas delivered its response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators late on Wednesday that upheld its position stated on March 14, he said.
“The position includes that the Israeli aggression on Gaza has to stop, and the Israeli forces have to fully withdraw; displaced people should be allowed to return to their homes, especially in northern Gaza; there should be extensive delivery of aid to all parts of Gaza and reconstruction should begin immediately; there should be a real and serious process to exchange people who are being held,” Hamdan said in a press conference in Beirut.
Hamdan also said that until now there has been no progress, despite the flexibility shown by Hamas.
“The occupation government is still evading, and negotiations are stuck in a vicious circle,” he added.
Hamdan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placing obstacles hindering both parties from reaching an agreement and that he is “not interested” in releasing Israeli hostages.
The Hamas official also said that Netanyahu is “drowning in the sands of Gaza,” asserting that Israel has “failed in achieving their goals and will not achieve them.”
On the other hand, Hamdan hailed the Palestinians sacrifices and steadfastness they have shown over the past six months.
He also pointed out that the Israeli massacres in al-Shifa Hospital is nothing but a new evidence of Israeli brutality and cruelty, holding the US administration and US President Joe Biden responsibe for the war crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip.
More than 33,037 Palestinians have been killed and 75,668 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
