Ahmed Asmar
10 March 2025•Update: 11 March 2025
ANKARA
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Monday that talks held with mediators and a US envoy in Qatar discussed ending the Israeli war on Gaza, troop withdrawal, and reconstruction of the enclave.
"We dealt flexibly with the efforts of the mediators and (US President Donald) Trump's envoy and we are awaiting the results of the upcoming negotiations and the occupation's obligation to adhere (to the Gaza ceasefire deal) and move to its second phase,” Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.
"The negotiations that took place with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators and Trump's envoy focused on ending the war, withdrawal and reconstruction," he added.
In an interview with the Israeli public broadcaster KAN on Sunday, US envoy Adam Boehler said Hamas had proposed a five- to 10-year truce during which it would disarm and withdraw from Gaza’s political scene.
There was no comment from Hamas on the US envoy’s statements.
Qanou said Hamas fully abided by "the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.”
“Our current priorities are focused on sheltering and aiding Gaza’s population and ensuring a permanent ceasefire,” he added.
The spokesman called Israeli threats to resume fighting and its electricity cut-off to Gaza “failed options that pose a threat to its captives, who will only be released through negotiations.”
Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza on Sunday, in the latest move to tighten a stifling blockade on the enclave despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Last week, Israel stopped humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, prompting warnings from local and human rights groups of a return to widespread hunger for the Palestinian population.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire deal ended in early March without Israel agreeing to move to the second phase or halt the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to extend the first phase of the prisoner exchange to secure the release of more Israeli captives without fulfilling military or humanitarian obligations outlined in the agreement, appeasing hardliners in his government.
Hamas, however, rejects this approach and insists that Israel abide by the ceasefire terms, urging mediators to push for immediate negotiations on the second phase, which includes a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war.
The ceasefire deal has been in place since January, pausing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 48,500 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
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 on the enclave.
