A senior official of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said there has been no progress in cease-fire talks over Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
Hamas is still ready to “deal positively” with any cease-fire proposal that ends the war, Osama Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut on Saturday.
Arab mediators’ efforts, backed by the United States, have so far failed to conclude a cease-fire, with both sides blaming each other for the impasse.
A plan presented last month by U.S. President Joe Biden, which he said was proposed by Israel, included a six-week truce accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
According to U.S. news site Axios, “three sources with direct knowledge” said Washington had presented a “new language for parts of” the proposed deal.
Hamdan confirmed that the movement had received the latest proposal on June 24 but that it included “nothing new.”
“We can say that there is no real progress in the negotiations to stop the (Israeli) aggression so far,” he said at a press conference.
The plan presented by Biden has so far failed to result in a deal, with both sides sticking to their demands.
Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in fighting until Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, is eradicated.
Hamdan also blamed the United States for applying pressure on Hamas to accept Israel’s conditions.
“Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent cease-fire, a comprehensive withdrawal from Gaza Strip and a serious swap deal,” said Hamdan, referring to a potential swap of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
When Hamas led an incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s genocidal war in comparison has so far killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and has left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.