Hamas ready for 'serious' Gaza ceasefire talks

Palestinian group's lead negotiator denies it rejected US truce proposal and blames Israel for impasse

Gazans have faced relentless Israeli bombardment in 20 months of war. AFP

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Hamas is ready to enter a new round of talks to reach a Gaza ceasefire but will not drop its long-standing demands for an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war in the Palestinian enclave, the group's chief negotiator and sources have said.

Sources told The National on Friday that Hamas has in the past week been engaged in intense contacts with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US. The group has shown flexibility on some issues but has not budged on its core conditions for a truce, they added.

Hamas, they said, now wants guarantees from all three mediators that negotiations with Israel – proposed to begin as soon as a temporary truce comes into effect – will lead to an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the 20-month war.

Alarmed by the increasing criminal activity of Israeli-backed armed groups in Gaza, Hamas also wants the long-proposed Palestinian administration of independent technocrats to take over the running of the war-ravaged enclave as soon as a truce begins, the sources said.

They said the groups, drawn from powerful families and clans known to oppose Hamas, have attacked Hamas members and their families, and have stolen humanitarian aid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday acknowledged that his country had “activated” some Gaza clans known to be opposed to Hamas, but did not specify what were they asked to do.

In comments marking the start of Eid Al Adha, Hamas's senior negotiator Khalil Al Hayya said: "We reaffirm that we are ready for a new, serious round of negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement."

Israel and Hamas appeared close to an agreement on a truce late last month after the US proposed a deal. Hamas submitted its response to the truce plan presented by Washington's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, neither accepting nor rejecting the deal.

However, Mr Witkoff called the group's response “totally unacceptable” and said it “only takes us backwards.”

Mr Al Hayya said the group had not rejected the US proposal, but that it submitted demands for a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire following any hostage release. He blamed Mr Netanyahu for the impasse.

The US meanwhile vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Wednesday demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza and full humanitarian access.

While attempts to reach a deal and repeated international calls to end the war continue, Israel has significantly increased its military campaign in the enclave. On Thursday afternoon, Gaza's civil defence said at least 37 people were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza.

The World Health Organisation, meanwhile, warned that Gaza's health system was "collapsing" and called for the last remaining hospitals to be protected. The Nasser Medical Complex and Al Amal Hospital risk becoming "non-functional" because of restrictions on aid and access routes, the WHO said.

Israeli authorities have informed Gaza's Health Ministry that access routes to the two hospitals will be blocked, the WHO added.

After nearly 20 months of war sparked by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Gaza has faced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with the population enduring Israeli bombardment, mass displacement and looming famine.