Hamas Says Israel Still Blocks Ceasefire Agreement

JAKARTA - Israel is still blocking the ceasefire agreement despite Hamas being flexible, when the latest conflict in Gaza was even a year old, Hamas chief negotiator and Gaza deputy head Khalil Al-Hayya said in a speech broadcast on Hamas' television.

Hayya said that although Hamas was flexible in the ceasefire deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government continued to stall and undermine negotiations.

He said his party was not willing to give concessions to his demands for Israel to end the war, withdraw its troops from Gaza, repatriate residents who fled internally to their homes, and make agreements on prisoners.

PM Netanyahu has vowed that war can only end after Hamas is eradicated.

Hayya accused the world of implementing double standards on Gaza and Lebanon, which he said would cause more disruption and instability in the region.

Hayya reiterated the group's stance behind the October 7 attack on Israel, saying the attack put the Palestinian issue at the top of the world agenda.

"We can say with confidence that the Palestinian issue has become a major problem in the world and all parties are now aware that there will be no security and stability in the region unless our people get their rights completely," Hayya said.

Israel and Hamas blame each other for failing to reach an agreement so far, accusing each other of making impossible requirements met.

Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have so far failed to end the dispute between the two warring sides, brokering a ceasefire agreement that would end the war and release Israeli hostages and foreigners detained in Gaza, as well as many Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Monday marked the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on 7 October on Israel that sparked a war in Gaza, as Israel sharply stepped up its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

The latest conflict in Gaza broke out after a Palestinian militant group led by Hamas attacked Israel's southern region on October 7, 2023, leaving about 1,200 people dead another 250 held hostage according to Israeli tally.

On the other hand, Palestinian authorities announced on Sunday that Israel's retaliatory attacks have so far killed 41,870 Palestinians and 97,166 others injured, mostly women and children, quoted from WAFA.