A Hamas representative, Osama Hamdan, said on Thursday (4) that there had been no progress in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, despite the Palestinian group showing flexibility.
Hamdan said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was putting up obstacles that prevented both parties from reaching an agreement, and that he was “not interested” in releasing Israeli hostages.
“The occupation government is still on the run and negotiations are stuck in a vicious circle,” Hamdan said at a press conference held in Beirut.
Efforts by Egypt and Qatar, supported by the United States, have so far not led to a ceasefire.
While Hamas wants any ceasefire agreement to ensure an end to the Israeli military offensive, Israel prefers a hostage release agreement, refusing to commit to ending its military campaign.
In Gaza, Israeli shelling continued to hit areas across the Palestinian enclave, killing 62 people in the past 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military released 101 Palestinians who had been detained by forces during the ground offensive in recent weeks and months. The detainees, many of whom had complained of mistreatment in Israeli prisons, were released through the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing into the southern Gaza Strip.
More than 33,037 Palestinians have been killed and 75,668 injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 2017, the Gaza Ministry of Health said in a statement on Thursday (4).
Israel's bombing and invasion of Gaza followed the Hamas-led attack that killed around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, with more than 250 kidnapped in Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli calculations.
Source: CNN Brasil
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