Hamas: We have acted with high responsibility, ball is now in Israel’s court

Hamas says it has acted responsibly in the latest round of ceasefire negotiations for Gaza, adding that it has accepted a proposal from mediators and the ball is now in the Israeli regime’s court.

Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said in a statement on Saturday that the Gaza-based group’s “negotiating delegation returned to Cairo again yesterday (Friday) and is following up with Egyptian officials on the developments of the ongoing negotiations and discussing the proposed suggestions.”

Qanou noted that Hamas’s decision to release Israeli-American soldier Idan Alexander from captivity and return the bodies of four other captives reflects the resistance group’s flexibility and positive engagement with the proposals put forward by the mediators.

He stated that his group’s agreement to the mediators’ proposal is not an alternative to the second phase, but rather paves the way for starting negotiations towards ending the war and subsequent Israeli troops withdrawal.

Qanou added that “the movement’s positive response to the mediators’ proposal is part of the ceasefire agreement and the ongoing negotiations to complete its other phases.”

He reiterated that Hamas supports any proposal that reaches them through the mediators, and engages with it with great flexibility and high positivity.

Qanou emphasized that his movement has not set impossible conditions.

The Hamas spokesman pointed out that the problem lies in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on procrastination to save his political future, stressing that Israel has violated the first phase by blocking humanitarian aid entering Gaza since March 2.

Israeli airstrike kills 9 Palestinians in northern Gaza

An Israeli airstrike on the northern Gaza Strip has killed at least nine Palestinians, including three local journalists, medics say.

Netanyahu has opted not to participate in negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Instead, he is seeking to prolong the first phase of the deal, which came to a close in early March.

The Tel Aviv regime halted electricity supply and the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza to pressure Hamas to accept its conditions.

The Palestinian group, however, has refused to proceed under these conditions, insisting that Israel must abide by the terms of the ceasefire and immediately start negotiations for the second phase, which includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete halt to the war.

On November 21 last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its deadly war on the blockaded coastal sliver.

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