Hamas says not informed of any new development on Gaza cease-fire talks

By Mohammed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Hamas said Thursday it has not been informed of any new development by mediators regarding the Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap negotiations with Israel.

“We have not been informed by the mediators of any new development,” the Palestinian group said on its Telegram channel.

It accused Israel of “buying time to thwart” the negotiations.

“This will not receive our people and their resistance,” Hamas said.

An Israeli negotiating team returned to Israel from Qatar on Wednesday after attending a four-party meeting aimed at advancing the Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap talks.

For months, efforts by the US, Qatar and Egypt to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a hostage exchange and cease-fire have been hampered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas' call to halt hostilities.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Over 38,300 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 88,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala