GAZA CITY: Hamas’ senior spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Saturday rejected ceasefire proposals aimed at halting the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group in Gaza, arguing that the conditions fail to address essential demands.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the proposed truce lacks commitments to halt Israeli aggression, withdraw Israeli troops, and allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
Zuhri accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using ceasefire negotiations as a stalling tactic to continue military offensives in Gaza and in parallel talks concerning Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israeli drone strikes targeted Gaza’s Burj refugee camp, killing at least five people. Simultaneously, Israeli tanks advanced into northwestern Beit Lahiya, leading to widespread displacement as residents evacuated the area.
Gaza’s health ministry reported that at least 43,314 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign since October 7, 2023. In the past 24 hours alone, at least 55 people have been killed, and the number of wounded has reached over 102,000, according to the ministry’s latest figures.
Hopes for a ceasefire have faded as Israeli airstrikes killed 68 people in Gaza on Friday and bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs. The Israeli military also announced it had killed a senior Hamas official, Izz al-Din Kassab, in an airstrike on the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.
Efforts by US envoys to broker a ceasefire ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday appear to have stalled. Hamas’ Al-Aqsa television confirmed on Friday that the group does not support a temporary truce, emphasizing that any agreement must include an end to Israel’s year-long occupation in Gaza and a complete military withdrawal.
