Haniyeh: Hamas showing flexibility in negotiations but ready to continue fight

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday the group is showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel but at the same time was ready to continue fighting.

In a televised speech, Haniyeh called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march to Al-Aqsa mosque to pray on the first day of Ramadan.

Haniyeh said that Israel and the US will not achieve through political deals what they failed to accomplish on the field in the Gaza Strip.

His statements came amid talks for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage-prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel.

"We tell Israel and the US that what they failed to impose in Gaza will not be achieved through political plots," Haniyeh said at an event in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

He hinted that his resistance group is ready to continue its fighting against Israeli forces during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, due to start next week.

The Hamas leader said Israeli threats to launch a ground attack in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip "reflect the Nazi nature of the Israeli army."

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 29,954 and injured over 70,000 with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel's deadly offensive in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.