Hamas engages other Palestinian resistance groups for unified position on deal with Israel

Hamas is engaging with other Palestinian resistance groups for a unified stance on a proposed hostage-prisoner exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza, which will then be presented to Egypt, Anadolu learned on Thursday.

Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziad Al-Nakhala, said Tuesday that the Movement would not engage in any agreements without reaching a comprehensive ceasefire.

“The final response from the Movement (Islamic Jihad) has not been presented to Cairo yet,” a Palestinian source said, adding that “discussions with Egyptian officials are still ongoing”.

It is understood that negotiators Egypt, Qatar and the US are edging closer to an agreement to halt the war and enable the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas has confirmed that it is studying a proposal said to have been thrashed out in Paris over the weekend.

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Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said there is talk of all kinds of deal but “we will not conclude this war without achieving all of its goals. This means eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel.”

Israel has killed more than 27,000 people in the Gaza Strip in response to the 7 October cross-border offensive by Hamas, which took the lives of 1,200 people and took 240 as hostages. The military onslaught has caused mass displacement and destruction, and created conditions for a famine.

A temporary truce in November resulted in a seven-day pause in the fighting, in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages by Hamas and about 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

In late 2023, South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

The UN Court, in its interim ruling last week, ruled that South Africa’s claims are plausible. It ordered provisional measures for Israel’s government to desist from genocidal acts, and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

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