Hamas political representative says Israeli leadership’s mentality obstructing ceasefire deal

Khalid Qaddoumi, the political representative of Hamas in Tehran, says Hamas is willing to release all the Israeli hostages ‘from day one’ but it is the Israeli leadership’s mentality that is impeding hostage exchange negotiations. In an interview with Channel 4 News, Qaddoumi said Israel feels no pressure from the US to abide by any laws or a ceasefire deal, and that many Israeli massacres in Gaza took place while US officials were visiting Israel. Qaddoumi also shed light on over 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons for decades, including many children. ‘Nobody is talking about them,’ he said. When asked whether he thinks a ceasefire deal is possible before Ramadan, Qaddoumi said ‘everything is possible’ provided two things, the first being for the US to put pressure on Israel and the second is that the mentality of Israeli leadership ‘has to change.’