Hamas said it has rejected the "new conditions" put up by Israel for the ceasefire deal, and is only ready for the deal it agreed to on July 2, CNN reported. (Pics/AFP)
Updated On: 2024-08-26 03:23 PM IST
Compiled by : ronak mastakar
The Hamas delegation reportedly left Cairo on Sunday evening (local time) after meeting with mediators for the renewed talks
The development has cast further doubt on the chances of a breakthrough in the US-backed effort to end the 10-month-old war
Hamas demanded that Israel "be bound by what was agreed upon on July 2, based on what was stated in Biden's speech and the Security Council resolution," Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement
Al-Rishq further stressed Hamas' position that any agreement must include "a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the freedom of return of residents to their areas, relief and reconstruction, and a serious exchange deal"
Last week, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Aqsa TV that Israel has "set new conditions for accepting the agreement and has retracted what it had previously agreed to"
According to Hamdan, those new conditions included Israeli troops repositioning in the Philadelphi corridor, a key strip of land along the border with Egypt, and non-Palestinian management of the Rafah crossing with Egypt
Hamas has been blaming Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the "lack of progress" during the talks. The group has accused Netanyahu of imposing "new demands" and "not being serious" about reaching a ceasefire, as reported by Al Jazeera
Netanyahu has insisted that the war in Gaza will continue until a "total victory" against Hamas has been won, even if a deal is reached. That objective has been questioned by many top Israeli officials, including his own defence minister, and family members of captives held by Hamas
Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1200 people and holding over 250 hostages, out of which over 100 are still in captivity