Hamas rejects "new conditions" by Israel for Gaza ceasefire deal, delegation leaves Cairo talks

Palestinians check the destruction in Deir el-balah in the central Gaza Strip. Pic/AFP

Hamas said it has rejected the "new conditions" put up by Israel for the ceasefire deal, and is only ready for the deal it agreed to on July 2, CNN reported. The Hamas delegation reportedly left Cairo on Sunday evening (local time) after meeting with mediators for the renewed talks. The development has cast further doubt on the chances of a breakthrough in the US-backed effort to end the 10-month-old war.

Hamas demanded that Israel "be bound by what was agreed upon on July 2, based on what was stated in Biden's speech and the Security Council resolution," Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement. Al-Rishq further stressed Hamas' position that any agreement must include "a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the freedom of return of residents to their areas, relief and reconstruction, and a serious exchange deal."

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Last week, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Aqsa TV that Israel has "set new conditions for accepting the agreement and has retracted what it had previously agreed to." According to Hamdan, those new conditions included Israeli troops repositioning in the Philadelphi corridor, a key strip of land along the border with Egypt, and non-Palestinian management of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Hamas has been blaming Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the "lack of progress" during the talks. The group has accused Netanyahu of imposing "new demands" and "not being serious" about reaching a ceasefire, as reported by Al Jazeera. Netanyahu has insisted that the war in Gaza will continue until a "total victory" against Hamas has been won, even if a deal is reached. That objective has been questioned by many top Israeli officials, including his own defence minister, and family members of captives held by Hamas.

Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1200 people and holding over 250 hostages, out of which over 100 are still in captivity. In response, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli operation, however, has been criticised for civilian casualties. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli operation, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said that around 100 of its fighter jets "struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels, aimed for immediate fire toward northern and central Israel." "More than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes," it said. Prior to this, Israel on Saturday, declared an emergency for the next 48 hours amid the country's escalating tensions with Lebanon.

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