No deal before full cessation of Israeli offensive, withdrawal of its forces: Hamas leader

Ismail Haniyeh made the remarks in a televised speech on Sunday evening on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan.

“We do not want an agreement that does not end the [Israeli] war on the Gaza Strip or [ensure] return of our displaced people to their homes, or an agreement that does not guarantee the withdrawal of the Zionist enemy from the Gaza Strip,” Haniyeh asserted.

He stressed that any agreement with the Israeli regime must also address humanitarian issues in Gaza, including provision of relief aid and shelter, as well as reconstruction of the territory, while ending the Israeli siege and guaranteeing “a dignified deal for the exchange of prisoners”.

“We absolutely do not want an agreement that does not address humanitarian issues of our people, especially in the northern Gaza Strip … where children, the elderly, and women are dying because of hunger imposed by the enemy,” he said.

The Hamas chief added that the movement has shown the highest degree of positivity and responsibility in order to achieve an agreement based on these principles.

He noted that any possible agreement should be implemented in three stages and must include international guarantees to oblige the occupying regime to abide by it.

Elsewhere in his speech, Haniyeh emphasized that the Zionist enemy bears full responsibility for not reaching any agreement during the ongoing talks, as it avoids giving any clear guarantees.

“I tell you clearly, responsibly, and impartially that the enemy has so far refrained from giving clear guarantees and commitments, especially with regard to stopping its war of aggression against the Gaza Strip.”

Haniyeh affirmed that Hamas and its leadership are open to continuation of negotiations and any formula that would end the aggression against Gaza and Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.

In his speech, he also mentioned that Hamas will not compromise “on any drop of blood of a child, woman, elder, or fighter from our people.”

He warned that the Zionist enemy “is conducting a psychological war against our people to drive wedges [among Palestinian factions and] create and spread chaos.”

Haniyeh, however, promised that all efforts made by Israel to this effect will fail, cautioning Palestinian groups against falling prey to rumors and malicious media campaigns launched by the enemy.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza started on October 7, 2023 after the territory’s resistance movements carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime’s genocide has so far killed 31,045 Palestinians and injured 72,654 others, more than 70 percent of whom are women and children.

Israel has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, medicine, food and water to more than two million Palestinians living there.