Hamas: Hostages won’t see light until Israel complies with our demands

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Israeli hostages held in Gaza will not be released until Israel complies with the Palestinian resistance’s conditions adding that there was “no meaning” to concluding any agreement with Israel unless the latter adheres to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a press conference with leaders of Palestinian factions in the Tunisian capital, where he arrived on Friday, Abu Zuhri said: “Why do we even go to negotiations and sign an agreement if the [Israeli] occupation does not accept to stop the aggression against our Palestinian people?”

He said resistance seeks to stop the aggression on Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners.

Tel Aviv estimates that about 134 Israeli prisoners of war are held in Gaza, while Hamas says 71 of them were killed in Israel’s bombing campaign on the Strip.

Abu Zuhri stressed that while Hamas has accepted the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, Israel has been obstructing it and instead attacked the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.

READ: Qatar: A ceasefire could be reached if Israel ends its insistence on continuing the war