As challenging negotiations continue in Cairo, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan has stated that there will be no prisoner exchange until Israel declares a ceasefire.
In a press conference held in Beirut, Hamdan highlighted the conditions set forth by Hamas during the negotiations in the Egyptian capital over the past two days aimed at halting the hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
Hamdan’s conditions for a ceasefire include “a complete Israeli withdrawal, the return of displaced people to their areas, and the provision of sufficient aid.”
He accused Israel of continuing “its usual tactics of delaying and playing games with the proposed initiatives.”
Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis Continues Amid Negotiations
Hamdan also pointed out that alongside the ongoing negotiations, Israel persists in “massacres and starving the residents of Gaza, using it as leverage against the Palestinian people.”
The senior Hamas leader emphasized that what Israel failed to achieve in the war would not be conceded at the negotiation table, insisting that “the security and safety of our people can only be achieved with a permanent ceasefire.”
Hamdan stated that any prisoner exchange “cannot proceed without fulfilling all the conditions we have laid out in the negotiations,” highlighting Hamas’s readiness and determination to continue all forms of struggle. He affirmed, “We will not allow the negotiation process to remain open-ended or become a cover for committing more massacres.”
Negotiations to Continue
According to the Cairo News Channel, a high-level Egyptian source confirmed that discussions in Cairo aimed at reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip are ongoing, with another round scheduled for Wednesday.
The Egyptian channel earlier cited an unnamed source stating, “There are difficulties facing the negotiations, but they are still continuing.”
The negotiations involve Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Hamas, with hopes pinned on the Cairo talks being the final step towards achieving a long-term ceasefire before the holy month of Ramadan, which starts next week.
The proposed 40-day truce would involve releasing dozens of prisoners and facilitating aid delivery to Gaza.
