Hussam Badran, of Hamas’ political bureau, stated on Tuesday, December, 9 that the movement demands the cessation of Israel’s violations of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal before proceeding to phase two.
Badran added that any discussion on the second phase of the deal must be preceded by real pressure by the mediators and guarantors, above all the United States, to ensure that all terms of phase one were implemented.
The terms of the first phase included a prisoners-for-captives exchange, ending the fighting, and aid entry to the besieged enclave. However, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) committed 738 violations of the deal since phase one took effect on October 10, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
At least 386 civilians were killed, 980 others were wounded, and 43 were unlawfully arrested as a result of these violations. Death toll estimates of Palestinians killed by Israel since October 2023 vary. While the official death toll of the Gaza Government Media Office surpasses 70,000, independent calculations have the number much higher.
Disarming Palestinians equals taking their soul; says Khaled Meshaal
Amid uncertainties of the direction of the ceasefire, the Head of Hamas political bureau abroad, Khaled Meshaal, told Al Jazeera during an interview aired on Tuesday, that the Palestinian resistance is bringing forward “realistic and practical approaches”, which would guarantee no military escalation against Israel from the Gaza Strip, but without disarmament.
“For Palestinians, disarmament equals taking the soul,” Meshaal insisted.
The senior Hamas official also asserted that the movement rejects a non-Palestinian authority to rule Gaza, in response to the US-led “board of peace” proposed by President Donald Trump.
Meshaal further emphasized the importance of providing aid to Gaza as a prerequisite for negotiations on phase two of the deal.
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