Hamas rejects new Israeli conditions for Gaza ceasefire

(Patria) - Hamas yesterday announced it rejects new Israeli conditions regarding the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, casting further doubt on the possibility of reaching a truce in the latest effort to end the 10-month war.

Months of negotiations have failed to yield a result to end the devastating Israeli military operation in Gaza or free the remaining hostages held by Hamas, the armed group responsible for the attack on Israel on October 7, which marked the start of the war.

A key point of disagreement in the ongoing talks mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar is the Israeli presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land stretching 14.5 kilometres along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Hamas said Israel reneged on its promise to withdraw troops from the Corridor and put forward new conditions, including scanning displaced Palestinians upon their return to the more populated north of the enclave once a ceasefire is reached.

- We do not accept discussions about withdrawing from what we agreed on July 2 or new conditions - Hamas official Osama Hamdan said yesterday on Al-Aqsa.

In July, Hamas accepted a US proposal to begin negotiations on releasing Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza, a senior Hamas source told Reuters.

Hamdan also said Hamas sent its response to the latest proposal to mediators, saying US claims about an imminent solution were inaccurate.