Hamas has once again turned down new conditions proposed by Israel in the ongoing talks aimed at securing a Gaza ceasefire and releasing hostages in Gaza.
This rejection adds more uncertainty to the already stalled negotiations, which have been ongoing for months without a successful resolution to end the 10-month conflict or secure the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s attack on October 7.
The main issues in these talks, which are being mediated by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, revolve around Israel’s military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Hamas claims that Israel promised to remove its troops from this area but has now introduced new demands, including checking Palestinians as they return to northern Gaza once a ceasefire is in place. This has led to further complications in reaching an agreement.
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“We will not accept discussions about retractions from what we agreed to on July 2 or new conditions,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the group’s Al-Aqsa TV on Sunday.
In July, Hamas agreed to start discussing a deal with the U.S. about freeing Israeli hostages, which includes soldiers and men, 16 days after the initial step of a plan meant to stop the fighting in Gaza.
However, a top Hamas official, Hamdan, mentioned that they’ve given their feedback on the newest proposal, pointing out that the U.S. claims of a deal being close are not true.
