Hamas official rejects talk of new negotiations with Israel

Israeli media have reported that Gaza ceasefire talks will resume on Tuesday in Cairo.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said that there is no need for new negotiations with Israel, amid Israeli media reports that there is an intention to renew Gaza truce talks.

In a phone interview with media Arabic on Saturday, Hamdan said that the immediate requirement is for Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and for all aggression to stop.

“We do not need new negotiations,” he said, adding that Hamas has already agreed to a ceasefire proposal that Israel has rejected.

“There is no guarantee that it [Israel] will accept new proposals to go to negotiations … If there are no serious guarantees, this means giving Israel more time to continue the aggression,” he added.

Earlier this month, Hamas approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the seven-month Gaza war put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt although Israel said the proposal falls short of its demands.

On Saturday, according to Israeli media, officials involved in the negotiations said the Israeli government intended to renew talks for a Gaza captive release deal the in coming days, after a meeting with mediators in Paris.

Hamas has insisted that it is not willing to accept only a temporary ceasefire, but that an end to the fighting has to be permanent.

Israel has insisted that the war will not end before its goals are met, including the total defeat of Hamas. However, Israel is coming under growing international pressure to stop and is increasingly isolated. Among recent blows for Israel are an International Court of Justice order for it to stop its Rafah offensive, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and a decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise Palestine.

Meanwhile, Washington said top diplomat Antony Blinken had also spoken with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz about new efforts to achieve a ceasefire and reopen the border crossing in Gaza’s far-southern city of Rafah.

Al-Qahera News said Cairo was also continuing “its efforts to reactivate ceasefire negotiations and exchange prisoners and detainees”.

It added that Egypt was exerting “all kinds of pressure on Israel to urgently let in the aid and fuel” stranded at the Rafah crossing after its closure by Israel earlier this month.

Rafah crossing

But a Hamas official denied Israeli media reports that Gaza ceasefire talks would resume in Cairo on Tuesday.

“There is no date,” the unnamed Hamas official told the Reuters news agency when asked about the reports.

At least 35,903 people have been killed and 80,420 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7.

The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s attack stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive.

On Saturday, thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv to demand urgent government action to bring home captives held in Gaza, after the bodies of several were retrieved.

Another protest, calling for the resignation of Netanyahu and an early election, was also held nearby.

Despite the immense pressure, Netanyahu and his government have so far failed to strike a deal with Hamas, with many critics doubting their desire to reach a deal.