Hamas says will not surrender to political pressure, machinations amid Gaza war

Osama Hamdan, the movement’s representative in Lebanon, made the remarks at a ceremony in Beirut on Monday as negotiations are underway in the Egyptian capital of Cairo over a truce agreement seeking to put an end to five months of Israel’s US-backed war on Gaza.

Israel has reportedly imposed “many obstacles” on the path to reaching a truce deal, with the most contentious issue in the talks being the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern parts of the territory, and the lifting of the crippling siege on the territory.

Hamdan said the Palestinian resistance is committed to its principles and warned Israel and the United States that Hamas would not yield to their political deception and pressure.

“With the continued steadfastness and resistance in the field, we assure the Zionists and their American partner that what is not done in the field will not be fulfilled by political machinations,” Hamdan added.

“No matter what forms of deception and pressure are employed, the resistance will remain faithful to its sacrifices and adhere to the principles of its people and nation.”

The Hamas official stressed, “Any flexibility shown by the Palestinian resistance in negotiations out of concern for the blood of the Palestinian people and with the aim of putting an end to their great pain and sacrifices will be commensurate with its complete readiness to defend our people.”

Hamdan said the Palestinian resistance succeeded in thwarting the US administration’s plans to “liquidate the Palestinian issue,” adding, “The resistance, through its actions and sacrifices in the battlefield and support in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, has formed a solid structure in confronting the Zionist entity.”

Pointing to Israel’s inhuman siege on Gaza, Hamdan called on the Arab and Islamic nations to take the initiative in breaking what he called the “starvation conspiracy” against the besieged Palestinian territory and its north, in particular.

The Hamas official stressed the need for sustainable support of efforts aimed at ending the suffering of the people of Gaza and urged the Arab and Muslim world to “impose a siege on Israel.”

Hamdan added it is Muslim nations’ duty to side with the Palestinian people and the resistance in their fight against the Israeli occupation.

Media reports announced on Sunday that representatives from the United States and Qatar had arrived in Cairo for mediation in the indirect talks between Hamas and Israel.

The Egyptian media cited an unnamed Hamas official as saying that if the Israeli regime agrees to meet the Palestinian resistance movement’s demands, including the occupying entity’s military withdrawal from Gaza and stepped-up humanitarian aid, the measure will “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours.”

Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the its intensified violence against the Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 30,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 72,000 others.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million people living there.