GAZA CITY
The Palestinian faction Hamas insisted on Sunday that Israelis living in settlements close to the Gaza Strip border cannot safely return to their homes without its approval.
"These residents would return when Hamas decides not when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said during a march in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
He said Netanyahu "lies" to Israelis by telling them that his army had won the Gaza war.
"Facts cannot be changed," Abu Zuhri said. "It was the Palestinian resistance that prevailed."
At least 2016 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and 10,193 others injured in Israeli attacks since July 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
At least 64 Israeli troops were also killed in Gaza combat, while three civilians were killed by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip during the same period, according to official Israeli figures.
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are engaged in indirect talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
"We would either reach an honorable deal or no deal at all," said the Hamas spokesman.
"The enemy [Israel] should then be ready for the ramifications of failure to reach an agreement," he threatened.
The Palestinians are demanding, among other things, an end to the Israeli aggression, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and a total lifting of the blockade imposed by Israel since 2007.
By Hani al-Shaer
www.aa.com.tr/en
