Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that his Palestinian Islamist movement at war with Israel was sticking to its conditions for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, including an Israeli military withdrawal.
Israeli officials visited Egypt earlier this week in a renewed effort to secure a deal, but a Palestinian official close to mediation efforts said there had been no sign of a breakthrough.
“We are committed to our demands: the permanent ceasefire, comprehensive and complete withdrawal of the enemy out of the Gaza Strip, the return of all displaced people to their homes, allowing all aid needed for our people in Gaza, rebuilding the Strip, lifting the blockade and achieving an honorable prisoner exchange deal,” Haniyeh said in a televised speech marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day.
The exchange he referred to would be a release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in return for Israeli hostages being held by militants in Gaza since a deadly Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault on Israel.
Israel had said it was interested only in a temporary truce to free hostages. Hamas has said it will let them go only as part of a deal to permanently end the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israeli troops plan to thrust into Rafah at the southern end of Gaza, where 1.5 million people have been sheltering.
