Ahmed Asmar
25 December 2023•Update: 26 December 2023
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Hamas said Monday that it rejects any temporary pauses and seeks a permanent halt of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
"Our people want a permanent end of this aggression, not temporary pauses,” Hamas said in a statement.
The resistance group said it will not enter any hostage swap negotiations with Israel unless “there is a total cessation of the aggression.”
In another development, Hamas denied media reports citing Egyptian security sources that the group and Islamic Jihad movement had rejected an Egyptian proposal to cede power in Gaza in return for a permanent cease-fire.
Egypt, along with Qatar, helped mediate a weeklong cease-fire in November under which Hamas freed over 100 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas and other groups are still holding nearly 130 captives.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected any talks on a hostage deal with Israel before a complete cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the besieged enclave.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,674 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,536 others, according to local health authorities.
Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar
