Ismail Haniyeh said Hamas “will not accept anything less than a complete cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of the occupation army from Gaza, and lifting of the oppressive siege.”
The Hamas leader added that winning the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails is a goal in the talks.
Hamas has acted reasonably in the negotiations, Haniyeh asserted.
“We will deploy all tools available to put an end to the bloodbath that the enemy has started against our defenseless nation,” he said.
The Israeli regime insists that Hamas still holds 134 Israeli captives it took during the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation on October 7.
Palestinian sources, meanwhile, say at least 8,800 Palestinians are languishing in Israeli jails, most of them without a charge.
In late November, a 7-day ceasefire deal saw more than 100 Israeli captives freed in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners.
However, fighting resumed on December 1, and Hamas has since asserted that the only way it would release the rest of the Israeli captives is for the Zionist regime to stop its aggression on Gaza and free all Palestinian prisoners.
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