Hamas rejects Egyptian ceasefire initiative as 'defeatist'

Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan affirmed on Tuesday that the Palestinians are determined to remain steadfast in defence of their rights and said that the military wing of his movement would disclose more surprises in the coming days.

Speaking to international media, he criticised the ceasefire proposal for leaving out the Palestinians’ key conditions. He also reiterated that while his movement refused the Egyptian ceasefire, this does not mean it is ignoring Egypt’s efforts to propose the ceasefire.

Al-Resalah news quoted Hamdan as saying: “The Egyptian initiative was laid down by a defeatist mentality. The battle will not stop unless our conditions are met,” which include an end to the eight-year-long siege that Israel has collectively imposed upon all Palestinians living in Gaza.

Hamdan noted that the whole world is working to “save” Israel and not the besieged Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are under relentless fire and dying in large numbers as a result.

Speaking about the destruction of the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, he said that Hamas is no longer in need of those tunnels.

He also pointed out that the price of the rockets used by Palestinian fighters is very cheap when compared to the weapons the Arabs purchase from Washington.

The senior Hamas official said that the fighters could easily compensate what they fire within hours, reiterating that all rockets are homemade, except the grad missiles imported from Libya.