Hamas official says group ready for immediate cease-fire deal, 'serious’ prisoner exchange

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - A senior member of the Palestinian group Hamas stressed that it is ready for a cease-fire deal and the release of the Israeli hostages as part of a "serious” prisoner exchange.

Basem Naim, a Palestinian physician, politician and a leader in Hamas' politburo, said the last "well-defined, brokered deal" was on July 2.

"It was discussed in all details, and I think we were near to a cease-fire… which can end this war, offer a permanent cease-fire and total withdrawal and prisoner exchange," he said in an interview with Sky News that was aired Thursday.

Naim said that "unfortunately, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu preferred to go the other way" and recalled that Israel "committed at least two to three big massacres" in Khan Younis and Gaza City after that.

Referring to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in July, he noted that after that, they did not receive "any serious proposals."

He reiterated Hamas's positive attitude towards the cease-fire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on July 2.

Asked whether the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack against Israel by Hamas was a "massive disaster" for the Palestinian people, Naim said Palestinians have been suffering from Israeli occupation for 76 years.

"Between 2002-2023, 20,000 Palestinians were killed. Gazans have been suffocating from a siege for more than 17 years," said Naim, also pointing to controversial statements by the Israeli side publicly declaring their plans "to annex the West Bank, to Judaize Jerusalem, to expel the Palestinians."

Defining the Oct. 7 attacks as "an act of defense," he said what the Palestinian people are facing on a daily basis is Israel's denying their right to exist.

Asked whether Hamas' action triggered the escalations, Naim replied: "It is exactly as if you are accusing the victims of the crimes of the aggressor."

On the Israeli hostages, he noted that Hamas has "stated clearly and publicly" that they are ready to release them.

He recalled, however, that there are tens of thousands of Palestinians being held in Israeli prisoners.

"We are ready to release all these captured Israelis if they are ready to release our children, women, innocent thousands of minors who are still in Israeli jails."

"We are ready immediately for a cease-fire to end this war, for a serious prisoner exchange to get our brothers and sisters free."

Asked what message Hamas has for US President-elect Donald Trump, Naim said: "We are people who are looking for a better future. We are looking to secure a dignified, prosperous future for our children."

"Therefore, we are calling on any president, including Donald Trump and his administration, to take the needed steps to stop this aggression, to stop this war immediately. We are ready for a cease-fire deal."

Israel has continued its devastating offensive against Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year. The onslaught has killed more than 43,700 people and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel estimates that over 100 hostages are still being held by Palestinian factions in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.