Hamas accuses Israel of 'procrastination' in negotiations

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas accused Israel on Tuesday of procrastination in negotiations and warned that indirect talks will not remain open without progress.

''Israel is not interested in halting the ongoing aggression against Gaza or releasing prisoners," Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said at a news conference in Beirut, according to Anadolu.

"We affirm to Israel and the US that what they failed to impose on the ground, they will not achieve through political maneuvers," he said. ''The movement in Cairo presented its vision for a cease-fire proposal, emphasizing complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza Strip, displaced persons return, and delivery of adequate aid, relief, and reconstruction.”

Haman noted that the Palestinian resistance group ''will not allow the negotiations to remain open-ended while the aggression and starvation war against our people in Gaza continues, or as a cover for further crimes against innocent civilians, or to prolong the war continue the genocide against our people."

A new round of talks on a Gaza cease-fire started Sunday in Cairo with the participation of delegates from Egypt, Qatar, the US and Hamas.

Mediators seek to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas on the details of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as prisoners to be released from both sides, according to Israeli media.

Hamas is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages following its Oct. 7 attack.

Israel has since launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 30,600 and injuring over 72,000 others amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio