Netanyahu bears full responsibility for Gaza ceasefire collapse: Hamas

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the Israeli regime’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “bears full responsibility” for the collapse of the ceasefire following his decision to renew aggression in Gaza.

“The return to war was a premeditated decision by Netanyahu,” Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday, adding it was “aimed at thwarting the [ceasefire] agreement and yielding to [far-right minister Itamar] Ben Gvir’s blackmail.”

Ben-Gvir and two other ministers of his far-right Jewish Power party resigned in protest against January’s ceasefire deal.  Shortly after Gaza was bombed last week, the party announced it would rejoin Netanyahu’s shaky coalition.

In its Wednesday statement, Hamas urged the international community and mediators to pressure Netanyahu to stop the war and return to the ceasefire negotiations.

The movement warned that Israel’s resumption of the war endangers the lives of Israeli captives, noting that “Netanyahu lies on the captives’ families when he claims that the military option can bring them back alive.”

The statement stressed that Hamas is doing everything in its power to keep the captives alive, but the “random” Israeli strikes are endangering their lives.

“Whenever the occupation has attempted to retrieve its captives by force, it has brought them back dead in coffins.”

Dozens killed in new Israeli attacks on residential buildings in Gaza

Israeli forces have killed at least 12 Palestinians, including a mother, in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, local authorities say.

Israel launched the campaign of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing more than 50,000 Palestinians.

Last January, the Israeli regime was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, given the regime’s failure to achieve any of its objectives, including the “elimination” of the Palestinian resistance movement or the release of captives.

The 42-day first stage of the truce, which was marred by repeated Israeli violations, expired on March 1, but Israel is refraining from stepping into talks for the second stage of the agreement.

Since March 18, the regime has launched strikes on Gaza, breaking the ceasefire and prisoner-captive exchange agreement that had lasted nearly two months.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk