Hamas accuses Israel of evading Gaza cease-fire deal

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian resistance group Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday of evading efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with Israeli Channel 14 on Sunday, Netanyahu claimed that he was ready for a “partial” cease-fire deal to allow the return of some Israelis held captive in Gaza.

"Netanyahu's true stance is to avoid reaching an agreement to continue the war of ‘genocide’ on Gaza,” senior Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.

He called on the US administration to "lift its cover of silence and bias” and put pressure on Netanyahu and his government “to stop the aggression and genocidal war."

The Hamas leader stressed that his group is “positively dealing” with mediators’ efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement that “ensures a permanent cessation of the aggression, complete withdrawal from Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal."

Israel estimates that around 120 Israelis are held by Hamas in Gaza.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt have so far failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire that allows a prisoner swap between Israelis and Palestinians.

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

More than 37,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 86,100 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight 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 Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara