Hamas calls on mediators to oblige Israel to start talks for 2nd phase of Gaza ceasefire agreement

Hamas on Monday accused Israel of trying to derail the next phase of ceasefire talks and called Israel’s decision to cut off aid “a war crime and a blatant attack” on a truce that took a year of negotiations before taking hold in January.

On Sunday, Israel announced it would back a new proposal by the United States that calls for extending the ceasefire through Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20.

Under that proposal, Hamas would release half the captives on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.

But Hamas dismissed the proposal, stressing it would only release captives according to the original terms of the agreement, which stipulated that Israeli forces would permanently withdraw from Gaza and bring an end to the war.

In a televised speech, senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan accused Netanyahu of sabotaging efforts to start negotiations for a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

“We call on the international community and the UN to work to compel the occupation to return to the agreement and enter (talks for) its second phase, leading to a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of all forces, relief and shelter for our people, and the reconstruction of what the occupation has destroyed,” he stated.

He also called for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2735 “to achieve a just solution to the Palestinian cause,” including the right to self-determination, the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of refugees.

Hamdan urged the international community “to pressure the occupation to open the Gaza crossings and allow the entry of life-saving humanitarian aid.”

The ceasefire deal halted Israel’s war on Gaza, which killed more than 48,380 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.