PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: A Hamas official has spoken of big gaps with Israel in ceasefire talks as Israel continues its aggression against the people in Gaza.
An official from the Palestinian militant group with knowledge of the talks said on Saturday that deep differences exist between Hamas and Israel in negotiations for the Gaza truce.
The purportedly difficult talks over a truce and possible exchange of hostages and prisoners resumed in Qatar’s Doha this week, with Israel’s spy chief joining Qatari, US and Egyptian mediators.
The official talked about what he saw a deep divergence in positions in the talks between Hamas and the occupation (Israel) because, he said, the enemy understood the flexibility shown by the movement as weakness.
He further said that the enemy wants to reach a temporary ceasefire after which it could resume its aggression against Palestinian people.
The official said that Israel refuses to agree on a comprehensive truce and refuses the complete withdrawal of its forces from Gaza.
The official added that Israel has shown its desire to keep aid, evacuations and assistance under its control and asked the United Nations not to return to operations, especially in the northern Gaza Strip.
The longstanding relationship between Israel and the United Nations has been strained amid growing international outrage over the devastating civilian casualties and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The return of hostages taken in the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel is the main topic of the talks, but Hamas officials did not comment on the issue.
