AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A high-ranking member of the Hamas political bureau says Israel is not serious about reaching a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance movement in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In remarks on Tuesday, Sami Abu Zuhri lambasted Washington the West for pressuring Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal advanced by American President Joe Biden, stressing that the US pressure against the movement is misguided and that Israel is the one that is blocking a truce deal, Press TV reported.
They are acting “as if it is Hamas who is hampering the deal”, which is not the case, he said.
The senior Hamas official also denounced Tel Aviv for not being serious about reaching a truce deal with the movement in the war-torn Palestinian enclave, saying the occupying regime is still maneuvering under a cover provided by the US “despite the White House knowing that the problem lies with [Israel].”
Biden on Friday laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal that includes a three-phase plan, an exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners, the evacuation of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the rebuilding of the devastated coastal territory.
The proposal excludes Hamas from remaining in power, something that the group has repeatedly rejected.
Meanwhile, Qatar, which is mediating between Israel and Hamas on Gaza, said that it had given an Israeli proposal to Hamas that reflected the positions stated by Biden, adding that the document was now “much closer” to the positions of both sides.
“We are waiting for a clear Israeli position that represents the entire” regime “in response to the US’s Gaza proposal,” said Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari.
“The ceasefire deal should immediately end the long suffering of all people in Gaza and the hostages and their families and provide a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis,” he said.
Al-Ansari said Doha is trying its best “to finalize an agreement.”
Israel’s bloody war machine has killed over 36,500 Palestinians since October 2023. The vast majority of the fatalities are women and children.
The savage campaign was launched after Hamas carried out its historic Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities.
Israel has additionally enforced a comprehensive blockade on the coastal sliver, severing the supply of fuel, electricity, sustenance and water to the population of over two million Palestinians residing there.
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