A senior Hamas official says he will not get involved in ceasefire talks

A senior Hamas official has told the BBC that it will not take part in indirect talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages as they resume in Doha on Thursday.

The Palestinian armed group wants a guide to implement the agreement and will not “enter into negotiations for the purpose of negotiations to provide for Israel to continue its war”, said the official.

He reiterated that the guidelines should be based on the proposed agreement announced by US President Joe Biden at the end of May and accused Israel of adding “new conditions”.

The Israeli prime minister denied that and said that Hamas is the one who wants changes.

These negotiations are still expected to take place even without Hamas as mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar say they can use them to put together a plan that will solve the remaining problems.

They faced a number of setbacks last month and have been suspended since the assassination of Hamas political leader and chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The US hopes that finalizing the deal could prevent Iran from retaliating for the killing by Israel – which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement – and avoid a regional conflict.

The Israeli military launched an operation in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured.

More than 39,960 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the area.

Last week, the leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar issued a joint statement urging Israel and Hamas to resume urgent talks on a deal that would bring freedom to the people of Gaza and the remaining 111 hostages, 39 of whom are believed to be. dead.

The framework agreement is “now on the table with only the implementation details remaining”, adding that they are willing to present a proposal to overcome their differences if necessary.

Israel responded by saying it would send a team of negotiators to participate in Thursday’s talks. But Hamas – banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK and other countries – he asked the negotiators to present a plan based on where the talks were in the last month and a half instead of entering into any new rounds of talks..

On Wednesday, a senior Hamas official confirmed that its representatives will not attend the meeting, although many of them are based in the Qatari capital.

“We want a guide to implement what we have agreed on based on President Biden’s plan to end the fighting and the Security Council resolution, which confirms Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, especially from the Philadelphia corridor. [running along the border with Egypt]and it allows the return of displaced people to northern Gaza without restrictions, and it allows the flow of humanitarian aid,” he told the BBC.

“It is Israel that has added new conditions and withdrawn from its previous agreement,” he added.

The first phase of the agreement outlined by Mr. Biden on May 31 and approved by the UN Security Council would include a “full and complete ceasefire” lasting six weeks, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories of Gaza, and the exchange of some of the hostages – including women, the elderly and the sick or injured. – Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The second phase will include the release of all other living hostages and a “permanent end to hostilities”. The third will see the start of a major plan to rebuild Gaza and the return of the remains of the dead hostages.

on tuesday, The New York Times reported that unpublished documents showed that Israel forwarded a list of five new conditions in a July 27 letter.which added to the goals it had set out on May 27 and Mr. Biden presented days later.

It said the May proposal referred to the “withdrawal of Israeli forces in the east away from populated areas near the borders in all areas of the Gaza Strip”, but the July letter included a map showing Israel would continue to control Philadelphia. tunnel.

The report also said the letter added a condition that an agreed mechanism should be established to ensure that only unarmed civilians returning to northern Gaza are allowed through the Israeli-controlled Netzarim tunnel, which bisects the area.

In response to the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement calling his accusation that he added new conditions “false”.which they describe as “significant meanings”.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s July 27 letter does not present additional conditions and does not contradict or undermine the May 27 proposal. In fact, Hamas is the one who demanded 29 changes in the proposal of May 27, something the prime minister refused to do,” he added, without giving details of Hamas’ demands.

Later on Tuesday, President Biden admitted that negotiations were “getting difficult”, but vowed that he was “not giving up”.

He also said he believed the agreement would help prevent retaliation against Israel by Iran, which supports Hamas, for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh.

When asked by a reporter if Iran “could… stop taking action if an agreement to end the war is possible”, he replied: “That’s what I expect, but we’ll see.”

Israel, which has not confirmed or denied involvement in the killing of the Hamas leader, has warned Iran that it will “pay a heavy price for any violence”. Iran rejected Western calls for restraint and insisted that “a punitive response to an aggressor is a legitimate right”.

Haniyeh was followed by the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack. Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that Sinwar was “the only obstacle to the hostage deal”.