The Israeli authorities are seeking a temporary ceasefire deal with Palestinian movement Hamas to ensure the release of hostages before resuming fighting in the Gaza Strip, member of Hamas' political bureau Izzat al-Risheq said.
According to an earlier report, the movement also said it was ready to release only about 20 hostages — women and men over 50 — as part of the first stage of the deal and demanded that Israel agree to a six-week ceasefire. The movement's demand for the second stage of the deal included a permanent ceasefire.
"[Israel aims to sign] a temporary agreement to release its prisoners, in order to resume war and extermination thereafter," al-Risheq told Chinese news agency Xinhua on Monday.
In a comment to the news agency, Hamas' official said that a permanent ceasefire was the only guarantee for the protection of the Palestinian people and an end to the "bloodshed and massacres."
Hamas' position includes the full withdrawal of the Israeli armed forces from the enclave and the return of the displaced people to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, al-Risheq was cited as saying by Xinhua.
The official speaking to the Times of Israel reportedly told the outlet that Hamas has rejected all clauses of the latest hostage deal proposal, increasing the number of Palestinian prisoners, who have to be released by Israel as part of the agreement.
"[Hamas head in the Gaza Strip, Yahya] Sinwar doesn’t want a deal. He doesn’t care if Gazans continue to suffer, even after extraordinary Israeli flexibility regarding all the parameters of the American proposal," the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 33,700 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.