Hamas has ruled out the possibility of talks to revive exchanges of Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinian security prisoners, senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad said in a Thursday address posted to the terror organization's Telegram account.
"We will not hold any form of talks over [a] prisoners exchange under the continuation of the Israeli genocide war," Hamad said.
The statement confirms a previous Wall Street Journal report from December 20, which, citing Egyptian officials, noted that Hamas had apparently rejected an Israeli offer for a one-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, saying they wouldn’t discuss releasing the hostages until a full ceasefire first goes into effect.
Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political wing of the terrorist organization, met with intelligence officials in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Israel's offer but allegedly said that he was there to obtain a full ceasefire and more humanitarian aid.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad would have been included in talks for the first time; however, they also demanded a ceasefire before any negotiations begin – as well as the release of all Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 100 hostages.
"I will spare no effort on this, and the demand is to bring everyone," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized.
The IDF's advance into Khan Yunis has progressed with increased surrender of Hamas fighters and the unveiling of more of the Hamas tunnel network.
Part of the Hamas leadership was in Cairo to discuss the now-axed ceasefire deal as well as how to incorporate the increase of aid into the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas's stance remains: They don't have a desire for humanitarian pauses. Hamas wants a complete end to the Israeli war on Gaza," a Palestinian official said.
Ceasefire delayed
A ceasefire vote at the UN was also pushed back due to disagreements over the language of the resolution, in particular the process by which aid would arrive in the Strip. Some parties pushing for exclusive UN monitoring while the US is pushing back against that.
Currently, Israel monitors the limited humanitarian aid coming in via the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing.
Reuters contributed to this report.