Hamas Announces Deal Built on US Proposal to Stop Israeli War
The Palestinian resistance movement made the announcement in a statement in early Thursday.
The agreement, the group said, “stipulates ending the war on Gaza, the withdrawal of the occupation from it, and the entry of aid” as well as exchange of the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza with Palestinian prisoners.
It noted that it had engaged in “responsible and serious” discussions with various Palestinian resistance factions concerning the proposal before signing the agreement.
The movement reiterated that its contribution to efforts leading to the deal has been driven by its keen desire towards realization of “a halt to the war of extermination against our Palestinian people and the withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip.”
The talks were launched after Hamas responded to Trump’s 20-point proposal, agreeing to release the captives in exchange for Palestinian inmates and hand over Gaza’s administration to a Palestinian body.
Hamas submits lists of Palestinian prisoners
In a separate statement, Hamas said that within the framework of the agreement, it has submitted lists of the Palestinian prisoners, who were to be exchanged with Israeli captives according to the criteria agreed upon in the deal.
“We await final agreement on the names, in preparation for announcing them to our people through the Prisoners' Media Office, once the relevant procedures and understandings are completed,” it said.
Warning about fresh Israeli betrayal
Despite responding to the proposal, the group has sternly cautioned about the potential of the regime’s reneging on what has been agreed upon, citing Tel Aviv’s betrayal of similar arrangements in 2023 and January this year.
It has also asserted that implementation of any agreement entails meeting its relevant requirements.
Similarly, the movement warned as part of its announcement of the deal that Tel Aviv had to be “compelled to fully implement the requirements of the agreement.”
It, therefore, urged those with closest ties to the regime, most notably the US, “not allow it to evade or procrastinate in applying what has been agreed upon.”
At the same time, Gaza’s Government Media Office urged Gazans to exercise “utmost caution and care” and not to feel completely reassured about whether the areas they sought to move to following announcement of the agreement were safe.
“We call on our people not to move on Rashid and Salah al-Din Streets, from south to north, or from north to south, or in their surrounding areas, except after official instructions are issued that ensure the safety of citizens.”
The regime launched the genocide on October 7, 2023 after a historic operation staged by Gaza’s resistance fighters against the occupied Palestinian territories.
Al-Aqsa Storm, as the operation has been named, saw the fighters storm Israeli bases and take hundreds of Zionists captive.
The course of the warfare has seen the regime bring Gaza under unprecedented deadly aggression, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
It has also coupled the attacks with a near-total siege of the territory that has been denounced by human rights bodies as a means of weaponizing starvation.
The entire brutal military assault has, meanwhile, enjoyed record American political, military, and intelligence support.
The US would invariably lavish the regime with billions of dollars worth of deadly arms and veto all United Nations resolutions geared towards cessation of the genocide.
Hamas, however, would repeatedly offer concessions, including by guaranteeing release of the captives.
The regime, though, only cooperated with an initial ceasefire agreement, after which it began systematically escalating the genocide.
Numerous sources, including Israeli officials, themselves, would, meanwhile, report extensively on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deliberate efforts aimed at stymieing any underway negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Congratulating Gazans for frustrating Israel
Concluding its statement, Hamas saluted Gazans for their unyielding steadfastness in the face of the genocide that prevented the regime from realizing its main objectives.
It cited some of the objectives as Tel Aviv’s occupation of Gaza and its expulsion of the Palestinian territory’s two-million-plus population.
The Palestinians, it hailed, “recorded unparalleled positions of glory, heroism, and honor, and confronted the fascist occupation projects that targeted them and their national rights.”
‘What Israel failed to achieve by genocide, it won’t achieve through talks’
Izzat al-Rishq, member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, likewise called the deal the fruit of the great sacrifices of the Palestinian people and the strength of the resistance.
“The ceasefire agreement is a national achievement par excellence, embodying the unity of our people and their adherence to the option of resistance.”
He also asserted the movement’s steadfastness in safeguarding the Palestinian people’s rights, despite partaking in the negotiations, saying what the Israeli regime had failed to achieve through genocide and starvation would not succeed to realize through negotiations either.
Hamas’ spokesman Jihad Taha also hailed that Palestinian factions’ unified position amid the talks had resulted in further isolation of the regime.
Source: Press TV
