Gaza’s Hamas group rejects Israeli threats and says talks are the only way to save the lives of prisoners

Israeli threats to start a new war in the Gaza Strip are pointless, according to Hamas, the Palestinian resistance movement. They say that the peace talks are the only way for Israel to save the lives of its prisoners.

At a press conference on Monday, Hamas said that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, “is blocking the agreement for personal and political reasons, and the last thing he cares about is the release of the captives and the feelings of their families.”

Hamas said again that it was fully committed to putting the agreement into action and was ready for the second part of talks to end the fighting to begin right away.

The movement also said that the Israeli government “continues to violate the agreement and refuses to start its second phase.” They said that this “delay” will “make it even more isolated and show the world how false its story is.”

Hamas said that the truce deal was made by foreign mediators and was seen by everyone. This means that the regime must follow through on the agreement in order to free the prisoners.

Early in the day, Abdul Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas, said that the group was flexible in recent talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators as well as US President Donald Trump’s envoy in Doha. He also said that they are waiting to hear the result of their talks with Israel.

“We have dealt flexibly with the efforts of the mediators and Trump’s envoy, and we await the results of the expected negotiations and obligating the occupation to abide by the agreement and move to the second stage,” said Qanou.

He also said that the Doha talks are based on “ending the war, [Israel’s] withdrawal, and rebuilding” the Gaza Strip.

Israel has tightened the siege on Gaza, closed the crossings, and stopped sending emergency aid to the Palestinians. Qanou said that these actions are meant to make the Palestinians leave, but he added, “this is just a confused dream.”

The spokesman also said that Israel’s threats to start a new war and its decision to cut off the power, which has been in effect since October 7, 2023, are “options that have failed” and “pose a threat to its captives, they will not be freed except through negotiations.”

Israeli forces began their killing in Gaza on October 7, 2023. There have been more than 48,400 deaths so far.

The Israeli government had to agree to a peace deal with Hamas in January because it hadn’t been able to reach any of its goals, such as “eliminating” the Palestinian resistance movement or freeing prisoners.

in the first part of the deal, Hamas gave about 2,000 Palestinians in return for 33 Israeli prisoners and 5 Thai prisoners.

Israel repeatedly broke the 42-day stage of the truce, which ended on March 1. Israel has not entered into talks for the second stage of the deal since then.

Hamas has demanded that talks about a permanent ceasefire must happen before they will agree to free any more Israeli prisoners. This has created a stalemate, with both sides unwilling to compromise. As tensions continue to rise, the prospect of renewed violence looms, leaving many to wonder if a lasting peace can ever be achieved.