Hamas: ‘Israel will not get its soldiers in Gaza without prisoner swap’

The Israeli occupation will never return its soldiers from Gaza without a prisoner swap, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announced on Thursday.

“The only way that the Israeli occupation will get its soldiers in the hands of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is with a real and honourable prisoner swap,” Hamas Spokesperson Hazim Qasem asserted in a press release sent to the media.

Qasem pointed to previous successes of the Palestinian resistance related to reaching prisoner swaps with the Israeli occupation over the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.

The Hamas spokesperson stated that any prisoner swap would be carried out through indirect talks with his movement, which does not recognise Israel.

Recently, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz confirmed that he was working with the Israeli security and political levels to regain the Israeli prisoners held by Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, Al-Qassam Brigades.

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