Al Jazeera is mostly propaganda, but its always good to see how they tick.
Trump doesn’t get Islam. He thinks he can make “deals”, ignorant of the Treaty of Hudaybiyya Hamas behaves as if it was entitled to call the shots & proclaims victimhood.
Hamas underscores guarantee of full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
Hamas insists on remaining in power
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was “resolved to returning” all the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and vowed the “total destruction” of the terrorist group in a letter to captives’ families.
Hamas says it doesn’t trust Israel ‘not even for a second’
Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, says the Gaza-based group does “not trust the occupation, not even for a second”, Egyptian state-linked Al Qahera News reports.
“Therefore, we want real guarantees,” al-Hayya said, accusing Israel of violating two ceasefires in the war on Gaza.
“The Israeli occupation throughout history does not keep its promises, and we have experienced it twice in this war.”
Hamas said it’s ready to reach an agreement to permanently end the war and carry out an immediate exchange of captives and Palestinian prisoners with Israel.
Israel has yet to agree to fully withdraw all of its forces from Gaza.
Hamas demands guarantee of full Israeli withdrawal as Gaza talks intensify
Hamas will release all the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a ‘serious prisoner swap’ and a full military withdrawal from Gaza, a senior official has said.
The militant group is currently engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar after January’s ceasefire collapsed.
While there was no breakthrough earlier today, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources, Hamas figures have made their demands clear as the conflict continues to devastate the besieged territory.
Taher al-Nunu, a senior official, said: ‘We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid.
‘The issue is not the number of captives but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war.
‘Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation [Israel] to uphold the agreement.’
But he said Hamas would not disarm, despite it being a key condition for Israeli negotiators.
Earlier today a new proposal put to the group suggested the group release 10 of the estimated 24 remaining living hostages currently held in Gaza in exchange for a guarantee that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.
Hamas figures have made their demands clear as the conflict continues to devastate the besieged territory
The first phase of the ceasefire, which began on January 19 and included multiple hostage-prisoner exchanges, lasted just two months before Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza.
After the first phase of the ceasefire ended in early March, Israel imposed a complete blockade of all humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Just over two weeks later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas’s refusal to release half its remaining hostages in exchange for a ceasefire extensionwas the reason Israel resumed its assult.
They have said they will not end the war until Hamas is stamped out.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said the estimated number of deaths since March 18 has now exceeded 1,570. Rescuers said this includes hundreds of children.
Earlier today in Cairo, talks broke down over the militant group’s refusal to disband or lay down arms.
However, the Hamas delegation is reportedly willing to free an increased number of hostages in exchange for an extended truce.
An Egyptian source told Reuters: ‘Hamas has no problem, but it wants guarantees Israel agrees to begin the talks on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement’ leading to an end to the war.
Palestinians inspect the destruction at the Deir el-Balah municipality headquarters due to Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip on April 13
Civil defense teams and residents of the region carry out search and rescue operations in the rubble of the Menon family’s apartment building, targeted in an Israeli attack in the Jabalia Refugee Camp
Today German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday called for an urgent cessation of hostilities as she described the situation in Gaza as ‘catastrophic’.
She added: ‘Words cannot describe the humanitarian suffering of the people in Gaza. We urgently need to return to a ceasefire, so that all hostages can finally be released and so that two million Palestinians, who yearn to finally be able to live in dignity, can move forward together.’
Foreign Ministers in the EU are set to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa today, with Baerbock insisting that the Palestinian Authority – and not Hamas – should take responsibility for Gaza after the war.
‘Today’s meeting with the Palestinian Authority is absolutely vital, also from a European perspective, to make it clear that people can only live in dignity and freedom in the Middle East — particularly Israelis and Palestinians — if security is guaranteed for both sides, and that means a Gaza without Hamas structures,’ she said.
Netanyahu told the parents of hostage Eitan Mor that his government is working on a deal to bring back 10 of the remaining captives last night.
It came after Hamas published a three-minute clip showing the last surviving Israeli-American hostage held in Gaza, Edan Alexander.
The soldier, who was abducted during the October 7 attack on Israel, appears to be speaking under duress as he accuses the ‘disgusting’. government of ‘deserting’ him.’
The video was released hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz announced military control of what it called the new ‘Morag axis’ corridor of land between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.
Hamas have published a three-minute clip showing the last surviving Israeli-American hostage held in Gaza, Edan Alexander
Netanyahu told the parents of hostage Eitan Mor that his government is working on a deal to bring back 10 of the remaining captives last night amid pressure on the Israeli leader
Katz also outlined plans to expand Israel’s ongoing offensive across much of the territory.
In a separate statement earlier Saturday, Hamas said Israel’s Gaza operations endangered not only Palestinian civilians but also the remaining hostages.
The offensive not only ‘kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation’s prisoners (hostages) uncertain’, Hamas said.
During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants took 251 hostages.