Gaza, MINA – The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas rejected a proposal by US envoy Steven Witkoff on Sunday for a temporary ceasefire during the month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday, Palestine Chronicle reported.
Hamas called for the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement with Israel instead.
The movement argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reliance on American proposals to extend the first phase was a clear attempt to avoid honoring the agreement.
Hamas condemned Netanyahu’s decision to halt humanitarian aid, calling it a form of blackmail, a war crime, and a direct violation of the ceasefire deal.
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The group urged international mediators and the global community to pressure Israel to end its punitive measures against Gaza’s two million residents.
According to Hamas, Netanyahu is attempting to establish political facts on the ground after the Israeli army failed to do so over 15 months of conflict.
The movement also dismissed Israel’s accusations of Hamas violating the ceasefire as baseless.
Top Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi, in a statement to Agence France-Presse, reiterated that Israel’s acceptance of Witkoff’s proposal confirmed that Israel was avoiding its commitments under the ceasefire agreement.
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Mardawi emphasized that the path to regional stability and prisoner exchanges lay in fully implementing the agreement, beginning with the second phase, which includes discussions on a permanent ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, reconstruction, and the release of prisoners as part of an agreed deal. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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