Hamas has officially rejected Israel’s latest cease-fire offer, stating that it is willing to immediately negotiate a solution that would see all remaining hostages released in exchange for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian detainees.
In a video address, Hamas’ senior negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, stated, “We will not accept partial deals that serve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s political agenda.”
Fifty-nine hostages remain in captivity, with 24 believed to be alive.
Israel’s newest offer included a 45-day cease-fire in exchange for the release of ten hostages.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that it was time to “open the gates of hell” against Hamas.
Hamas has previously said it would contemplate an overall deal to end the war but the two sides are nowhere near any kind of agreement that would bring that about.
Israel’s stated aim is the complete disarmament and destruction of Hamas.
Meanwhile dozens of Gazans are dying each day in air strikes with no humanitarian aid entering the strip at all.
The latest series of Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people, the majority of them displaced civilians living in a tented camp, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency.
