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GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL

The Palestinian group Hamas is ready to engage in a new and serious round of negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement, Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas in Gaza and the group’s chief negotiator, said Thursday, noting that contacts with mediators are still ongoing.

In a recorded speech, al-Hayya said that Hamas “did not reject the latest proposal by (US Middle East envoy Steve) Witkoff but rather offered some observations and improvements.”

The amendments proposed by Hamas were “meant to ensure the (Israeli) occupation does not revert to treachery, killing, incursions or forced displacement and to guarantee the dignified entry of aid and relief to our people,” he said.

He also announced that the group is ready to immediately hand over governance in Gaza to any professional and nationally agreed-upon Palestinian body.

“We are continuously working with all parties to reach an agreement based on a firm stance committed to the fundamental rights and demands of our people, leading to a permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal of the occupation from the entire Gaza Strip, urgent humanitarian relief and an end to the blockade.”

He pointed to the Israeli government, specifically Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the main obstacle to reaching an agreement, saying Netanyahu “does not want to end the war, for personal and ideological motives.”

Al-Hayya emphasized that Hamas has shown flexibility and a positive attitude toward various proposals.

“We accepted most of the offers since the aggression resumed in March, including the March-end mediator proposal that called for handing over five captives and entering the second phase of the January agreement, but the occupation rejected it,” he said.

“After that, we presented our vision for a comprehensive deal that includes the release of all captives in exchange for a final end to the war, but the occupation rejected that proposal too.”

As a gesture of goodwill, al-Hayya said the group released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.

He noted that “Witkoff presented a proposal a week ago that called for the release of 10 live captives and 18 bodies over a 7-day period, but it included no guarantees against a resumption of fighting on the eighth day. In fact, Netanyahu himself declared his intention to resume the war after recovering the captives.”

Al-Hayya stressed that Israel insists on maintaining full control over humanitarian aid through a military mechanism rejected by international organizations as a violation of international law.

Israel “would not have continued its massacres even against those simply searching for food to survive as seen recently in Rafah without continuous military and political support, most recently the US veto at the UN Security Council against a resolution demanding an end to the blockade and the urgent entry of aid into Gaza,” he added.

The US previously vetoed four Security Council draft resolutions that called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza -- in October 2023, December 2023, February 2024 and November 2024 -- while abstaining in votes on other draft resolutions.

Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a genocidal offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants.​​​​​​��

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense 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 crimes against civilians in the enclave.