Hamas asserts it won’t free captives until Israel ends Gaza genocide
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected claims of agreeing to a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip, asserting that it will not release the remaining Israeli captives as long as the occupying regime can continue its genocidal war afterward.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri made the remarks on Sunday after several reports said Israel and Hamas were considering US proposals for a deal that would see the release of about half of the 20 living captives in return for a truce lasting about two months and the release of Palestinian abductees.
He dismissed the reports as “fake news,” saying the Tel Aviv regime was trying to “confuse the public” in order to pressure the resistance and carry out its crimes.
“We will not hand over the occupation’s captives as long as it insists on endlessly continuing its aggression against Gaza,” he said.
Abu Zuhri also expressed Hamas’s readiness to release all the captives at once, on the condition that Israel ends its Gaza onslaught with international guarantees.
Israel launched its deadly bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
In its operation, Hamas took 251 Israelis captive, 58 of whom now remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the occupation’s military and 20 believed to be alive.
More than 19 months into its genocide in Gaza, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its declared objectives despite killing at least 53,339 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 121,034 others.
On Monday, Hamas freed Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander based on an understanding with the US that humanitarian assistance would return to Gaza and that comprehensive negotiations to end the war would start immediately.
Abu Zuhri said Hamas initiated the handover of the soldier to create an atmosphere for reaching an agreement, but the US administration did not appreciate the resistance group’s step.
“The resistance is fine, and there is no concern about its future. Its operations continue despite the vast disparity in equipment with the enemy,” it added.
