Hamas: Israel assassinations of commanders ‘empower’ resistance, regime seeks to prolong war
A senior member of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says the group devotes sustained efforts to halt Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, rebuking the Tel Aviv regime for stalling the ceasefire negotiations.
“We informed the mediators following the invasion of Rafah [on May 6] that the Zionist enemy is not actually seeking a ceasefire. The occupying regime has put forward new conditions for a Gaza ceasefire and has backtracked on what it had previously agreed upon,” Osama Hamdan, who represents Hamas in Lebanon, stated on Sunday evening.
He stated that Hamas representatives have informed the mediators about the movement’s conditions, adding that Israeli delegates are pressing for repositioning in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor – a narrow 14.5-kilometer-long (9-mile-long) stretch of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, and non-Palestinian management of the Rafah border crossing.
“US officials have claimed that a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza is in sight. Such an assertion has merely been made for electoral purposes. We will not accept discussions about retractions from what we agreed to on July 2 or new conditions,” Hamdan said.
A Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday after holding talks with mediators, senior official Izzat al-Risheq said, adding that the group had reiterated its demand that any agreement must stipulate a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc has slammed the United States and Israel over blocking a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and committing genocide in the besieged territory.
‘We won’t stop’
“If it were not for this nation, the [Palestinian] resistance front would not have emerged. It is these people who gave birth to it and supported it over time. Resistance fighters have made heroic sacrifices that no one can describe. They are ineffable.
“Despite the severe oppression and immense suffering that our people are enduring at the hands of the Zionist enemy, the resistance front continues to confront the enemy bravely,” the top Hamas official stated.
Hamdan further noted that Hamas representatives have held multiple meetings with their counterparts from other Palestinian political factions in order to come up with a national vision plan and agree on the formation of an all-inclusive Palestinian government.
He concluded by saying that Israeli assassinations of Palestinian resistance commanders will not deter the nation from treading the path of resilience, emphasizing that resistance fighters do not hesitate to sacrifice all they have in defense of their homeland and legitimate cause.
