Hamas expresses readiness to begin new round of Gaza peace talks
Hamas affirmed its readiness for negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire and expressed its appreciation for the continued efforts by Qatar and Egypt
- GAZA — Hamas affirmed its readiness to begin indirect negotiations over
the Gaza ceasefire immediately.
-
- In a press statement on Sunday, Hamas expressed its
appreciation for the continued efforts by Qatar and Egypt to broker a ceasefire
agreement.
-
- The movement said that it is ready to "immediately
begin a round of indirect negotiations" to address the outstanding issues
with "the other party."
-
- Hamas said the objective of the talks would be to end the
"humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, ensure the delivery of relief aid
to the Palestinian people, and achieve a permanent ceasefire accompanied by the
complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, Xinhua news agency
reported.
-
- There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli side
regarding the Hamas announcement.
-
- However, Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir has ordered the
expansion of the ground operation into additional areas in both the southern
and northern parts of the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the
Israel Defense Forces.
-
- He stated that the expansion of activity will continue
until conditions are created for the return of the Israeli hostages and the
decisive defeat of Hamas.
-
- Earlier on Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz
warned Hamas to accept the Gaza ceasefire deal proposed by US Special Envoy to
the Middle East Steve Witkoff, "or be destroyed."
-
- Witkoff's proposal includes the release of 10 living
Israeli hostages and 18 bodies in two phases in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire
in Gaza as well as the release by Israel of 1,236 Palestinian detainees and
prisoners, along with the bodies of 180 Palestinians, Xinhua news agency
reported quoting the media reports.
-
- In a statement issued by his office, Katz said the
Israeli military continued its operations in Gaza with full force, carrying out
attacks by air, land, and sea on an unprecedented scale "for maximum
protection of our soldiers in preparation for the entry of the maneuvering
forces in each area."
