Osama Hamdan, a leading figure in Hamas, stated on Sunday that the resumption of negotiations for prisoner and detainee exchanges is contingent upon the cessation of Israeli attacks. He emphasized that Israel will not achieve the objectives it failed to reach in the 50 days prior to the humanitarian ceasefire, “no matter how long the war lasts.”
In a press conference in Beirut, Hamdan stated, “The resumption of negotiations for the exchange of prisoners depends on halting the aggression and ceasing fire; there will be no discussion on this prior.” He added that Israel’s intention to prolong the war was behind the failure of the negotiation process, despite Hamas showing “high flexibility in continuing the negotiations to extend the truce and informing the intermediaries of our readiness to continue it.”
The Hamas leader criticized the United States for supporting Israel, declaring the U.S. a partner in the “crimes of Palestinian bloodshed, ethnic cleansing, and genocide,” and warned that it would pay the price.
Hamdan called for an increase in the delivery of medical and food aid, fuel, gas, and field hospitals in all specialties to the Gaza Strip, and for urgent medical cases to be quickly evacuated for treatment.
He declared, “Gaza was and will remain the graveyard for invaders and occupiers.”
Hamdan refuted claims about the Israeli army’s progress in southern Gaza, stating, “The Israeli talk of entering the south of the Strip remains media talk, and the army has not been able to breach the resistance’s defenses,” assuring that “the resistance in southern Gaza will be fiercer than in the north.”
