Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said Tuesday that his group will not sign any hostage swap deal with Israel without a full cessation of the Israeli war and complete troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at a press conference in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Hamdan called on mediators "to obtain a clear Israeli response confirming that it agrees to a permanent cease-fire and complete withdrawal from Gaza."
On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and reconstruction of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said Monday that he was "not ready to stop" the war on Gaza, claiming that Biden's remarks about the cease-fire proposal were "inaccurate."
His coalition partners, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to topple the government if Netanyahu agrees to Biden's cease-fire plan.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
