Ismail Haniyeh: Post-war Gaza Without Hamas is Just a Fantasy

Ismail Haniyeh. (Wikimedia Commons/council.gov.ru)

JAKARTA - The chairman of the Politburo of the Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed that he was open to talks to end the war, but emphasized that a post-war Gaza without Hamas was just a fantasy.

At least 18,608 Palestinians have been killed in ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said 50,594 other people were also injured in the onslaught.

"A large number of victims are still under the rubble and on the road," he said as reported by Anadolu, December 14.

On the Israeli side, the death toll from Hamas attacks on their southern territory on October 7 reached 1,200, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, Haniyeh said he was open to negotiations to end the ongoing war and "put the house of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in order," as quoted by The Times of Israel and AFP.

He said he was ready for talks that could lead to "a political path that guarantees the Palestinian people's right to their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."

Haniyeh also emphasized that any plans for post-war Gaza that do not involve Palestinian militant groups are just a fantasy.

"Any arrangement in Gaza or Palestine without Hamas or resistance factions is a delusion," Haniyeh stressed in his televised speech, quoted by Al Arabiya.

Haniyeh's comments came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not allow "the entry into Gaza of people who support terrorism and finance terrorism."

He added that he welcomed the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the Arab-Islamic ministerial committee to stop the war in Gaza, calling on Arab countries to use all options to end the war.