Hamas says Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu trying to derail Gaza ceasefire deal
- The Israeli PM’s insistence on invading Rafah is proving a major obstacle to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days in return for the release of hostages
- Foreign mediators are waiting for a Hamas response to the ceasefire deal, which its chief has said the group is considering in a ‘positive spirit’
A top Hamas official accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of trying to derail a proposed Gaza truce and hostage release deal with his threats to keep fighting the Palestinian militant group.
“Netanyahu was the obstructionist of all previous rounds of dialogue … and it is clear that he still is,” senior Hamas official Hossam Badran said by telephone.
Foreign mediators have waited for a Hamas response to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, which its chief Ismail Haniyeh has said the group was considering in a “positive spirit”.
A major stumbling block has been that, while Hamas has demanded a lasting ceasefire, Netanyahu has vowed to crush its remaining fighters in the far-southern city of Rafah, which is packed with displaced civilians.
The hawkish prime minister has insisted he will send ground troops into Rafah, despite strong concerns voiced by UN agencies and ally Washington for the safety of the 1.2 million civilians inside the city.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas was the only hold-up to a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages,” Blinken said late Friday at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in Arizona. “The reality in this moment is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”
