Hamas: Ready to Participate in Talks if Comprehensive Agreement Ensures End to War in Gaza and Palestinian Rights

Hamas: Ready to Participate in Talks if Comprehensive Agreement Ensures End to War in Gaza and Palestinian Rights

"The partial agreements over Gaza merely serve as political cover for Netanyahu’s war, genocide, and starvation policies," said Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas chief in Gaza and the group’s chief negotiator. He reiterated Hamas’s readiness for a comprehensive agreement.

“We are now prepared to engage in negotiations for a comprehensive package deal, under which all Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for the release of a specific number of our prisoners, a complete end to the war, full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the start of reconstruction, and the lifting of the blockade.”

Al-Hayya welcomed the comments by U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler, who told Al Jazeera on Thursday: “I can say that if the hostages are released, the war will immediately end.”

Al-Hayya called on the international community to urgently intervene to lift the blockade on Gaza, warning that “more than two million people in Gaza are still being subjected to genocide through starvation.”

He mentioned that Hamas had accepted a mediator’s proposal at the end of Ramadan, on March 29, but Netanyahu later rejected it and imposed some “unreasonable conditions” that would not lead to a ceasefire or troop withdrawal.

Since the Israeli assault began in October 2023, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the majority of whom are women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

In addition, a genocide case against Israel is ongoing at the International Court of Justice over the war in Gaza.