Hamas rejects new conditions as Israel demands 33 hostages

The Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas on Thursday said it will not negotiate any new conditions for a ceasefire or the release of hostages, as a new round of negotiations began in Qatar.

“We in the Hamas movement do not see the need for a new agreement,’’ said Osama Hamdan, a high-ranking Hamas official.

“More negotiations are no longer required, but rather an American decision to pressure Israel to accept’’ the proposal presented by US President Joe Biden a few months ago, he added.

A Hamas source earlier said the movement has made clear to mediators that it “will not accept more manoeuvering’’ by Israel.

Hamas said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is attempting to secure the release of 33 hostages in an initial phase.

Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. have been acting as mediators for months between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Hamdan blamed the U.S. for failing to pressure Israel to agree to a deal.

“In spite of efforts by Qatar and Egypt, the US administration, while it made commitments and pledges, could not succeed or perhaps did not want to in pressuring the occupation to abide by the initiatives it presented,’’ he said.

He also said Israel has always obstructed the negotiation process, by sending delegations unauthorised to negotiate, setting new conditions, and refusing to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor.

He said neither a narrow stretch on the Gaza-Egypt border nor withdrawal from the Rafah crossing was necessary.

Thursday’s discussions are seen as a pivotal moment in the attempt to secure a ceasefire and facilitate a hostage exchange in the Gaza conflict, which began after the unprecedented Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

It is hoped that a breakthrough could also prevent a significant retaliatory strike by Iran against Israel and a substantial escalation of the war.

CIA chief William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel are reportedly involved as they have in past talks, sources said.

David Barnea, head of the Mossad foreign intelligence service, is believed to be representing Israel.

The Israeli Yediot Ahronoth newspaper earlier said Israel has given representatives a list of 33 names, reportedly women, children, and elderly or sick people it wants released as a condition for an agreement.

According to Israeli calculations, Hamas still holds 115 hostages, of whom Israel has declared 41 dead.

Other hostages whose fate are unknown are presumed dead.

(dpa/NAN)