Hamas: Failure to implement US deal to affect prisoner exchange
Hamas says it freed an Israeli-American soldier, Edan Alexander, based on an understanding with the US that humanitarian assistance would return to the besieged Gaza Strip and that comprehensive negotiations to end the war would start immediately.
In a statement released on Thursday, Hamas also emphasized the movement’s objectives to halt Israeli aggression, ensure the withdrawal of troops from Gaza, and facilitate the release of captives.
“According to understandings reached with the American side, and with the knowledge of the mediators, we expect the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, a call for a permanent ceasefire, and comprehensive negotiations on all issues to achieve security and stability in the region, objectives we are eager to reach,” the statement read.
“However, failure to implement these steps, especially the entry of humanitarian aid to our people, will negatively impact any efforts to continue negotiations regarding a prisoner exchange deal.”
Hamas on Monday released the Israeli-American soldier, reiterating its readiness to begin Gaza ceasefire talks stalled by Israel.
The Palestinian group said that it released Edan Alexander “following contacts with the US administration”.
The move comes “as part of the efforts made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, open crossings, and deliver aid to the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said.
The soldier’s release came ahead of US President Donald Trump’s tour to the region. Trump is now on the last leg of a trip to some Arab states of the Persian Gulf region. He has mainly skirted the issue of the war in Gaza in his public remarks during the trip.
Hamas also on Thursday condemned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for leading “an endless war” in Gaza, accusing him of seeking to “buy more time” while showing indifference to the fate of the captives.
The resistance movement described Netanyahu as “posing a danger to the region and the world,”.
Hamas criticized Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war despite ongoing negotiations.
Israel has intensified its deadly airstrikes and attacks across Gaza, even though ceasefire negotiations began in Doha on Wednesday, complicating efforts to secure a prisoner-captive exchange deal.
Hamas currently holds 58 captives, with 21 presumed alive, and has expressed its readiness to release all remaining captives in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops. However, Israel has stressed a rejection of ending the war in Gaza.
Tel Aviv has announced plans to expand its brutal military campaign across Gaza and reoccupy the entire strip indefinitely.
Hamas has already rejected the idea of a brief ceasefire and has repeatedly asserted that captives can only be released through negotiations.
The movement warned that renewed Israeli strikes on Gaza represent “a death sentence” for the captives.
Since early March, Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, having unilaterally terminated the ceasefire established in January and resumed its genocidal military campaign against the Palestinian population in the region.
Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza on March 2, before resuming a brutal military campaign on March 18 after talks to prolong a six-week ceasefire collapsed.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that some Israeli military officials have “privately concluded that Palestinians in Gaza face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks.”
Hamas has urged the international community to exert immediate pressure to end Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza.
Hamas announced in a statement on Wednesday that the occupying Tel Aviv regime has enforced a complete blockade on Gaza for more than seventy consecutive days, restricting all access to essential supplies such as food, medicine, water, and fuel.
The Israeli war in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 53,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, many of them women and children.
