Netanyahu rejects comprehensive ceasefire, insists on fragmenting truce issues: Hamas
Hamas says Netanyahu’s government rejected committing to ending war, even at expense of Gaza captives
GAZA CITY, Palestine/ANKARA
Hamas said Friday that it presented a vision based on a five-year ceasefire to Israel that was rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
nd responsible vision based on a comprehensive and simultaneous agreement that includes a permanent cessation of aggression, a full withdrawal of (Israeli) occupation forces from Gaza, lifting the siege, the entry of aid and relief, and reconstruction," senior Hamas official Abdel Rahman Shadid said in a statement published on the Palestinian resistance group’s digital platforms.
He said the proposal included the release of all Israeli prisoners in Gaza in exchange for an agreed-upon number of our Palestinian detainees, along with a long-term ceasefire lasting five years, and the formation of an independent committee for the administration in Gaza.
"Netanyahu’s extremist government rejected Hamas’ vision, insisting on fragmenting the issues and refusing to commit to ending the war," even at the expense of the Israeli captives in Gaza, he said.
The official pointed out that the group "has assured mediators that it is engaging responsibly ... with any ideas or proposals that ultimately guarantee a permanent ceasefire."
He held the US and other countries backing Tel Aviv responsible for "the crimes of massacres, genocide, and starvation warfare" in Gaza.
Israeli estimates suggest 59 captives remain in Gaza, with 24 believed alive. In contrast, more than 9,500 Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israel under harsh conditions, including reports of torture, starvation and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights organizations.
More than 52,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
