LONDON: A senior Hamas official said on Friday that Israel has not put forward any “serious proposals” for a ceasefire since the assassination of its leader Ismail Haniyeh, despite the group being ready for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Dr. Basem Naim told the Sky News show “The World with Yalda Hakim” that the last “well-defined, brokered deal” was put on the table between the two warring sides on July 2.
“It was discussed in all details and I think we were near to a reach ceasefire which can end this war, offer a permanent ceasefire and total withdrawal and prisoner exchange,” he said. “Unfortunately (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu preferred to go the other way.” He went on to say that Netanyahu committed at least two three big massacres in Khan Younis and Gaza and then assassinated their top leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Dr. Basem Naim urged US President-elect Donald Trump to pressure Israel cease fire and do whatever necessary to help end the war.
During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to work toward peace in the Middle East.
“Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if a ceasefire proposal is presented and on the condition that it is respected by Israel,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP.
“We call on the US administration and Trump to pressure the Israeli government to end the aggression.”
“Hamas has informed the mediators that it is in favour of any proposal that would lead to a definitive ceasefire, military withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced people, a serious deal for a prisoner exchange, the entry of humanitarian aid, and reconstruction,” Naim added.
These demands mirror those Hamas has made in past ceasefire negotiations since the start of the war.
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Naim said that Hamas has no regrets about the 7 October attacks as it was an act of defence. Israel’s imposed war on Gaza after October 7 attack.
Naim said that Hamas has no regrets about the October 7 attacks, calling it an act of defence. Israel imposed war on Gaza following the attack.
“October 7 was simply an act of defence. What we have seen on a daily basis is Israel’s plan to expel Palestinians and deny them their right to exist,” he said, adding that just a week before October 7, hundreds of Palestinians were killed near the Gaza border and that many were starving.
“I am a member of Hamas, but at the same time, I am an innocent Palestinian civilian. I have the right to live a free and dignified life, and I have the right to defend myself—to defend my family,” he said.
Naim’s comments come after Qatar said on Saturday that it had suspended its mediation role in the ceasefire and hostage release talks.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with US approval, has been a key diplomatic player in the prolonged efforts to end the war, which was sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Israel’s war on Gaza has so far killed 43,764 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable. – AFP with inputs from Sky News
