Hamas rejects US, Israeli threats of return of war
Hamas said Wednesday it would not bow down to threats from Israel and the United States, which demanded the resistance group release hostages this weekend or face a return to war in Gaza.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt were pushing to salvage the cease-fire agreement, a Palestinian source and a diplomat familiar with the talks told AFP, while Hamas said its top negotiator was in Cairo, AFP reported.
The truce has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting and seen Israeli captives released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.
But the deal, currently in its 42-day first phase, has come under increasing strain.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Wednesday that Israel was “evading the implementation of several provisions of the cease-fire agreement”, warning that hostages would not be released without Israeli compliance with the deal.
“Our position is clear, and we will not accept the language of American and Israeli threats,” said Qassem, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “resume intense fighting” if hostages were not released by Saturday.
His threat echoed US President Donald Trump, who said on Monday that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by then. Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives.
Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release scheduled for Saturday, citing Israeli violations.