Hamas confirm they will not join ceasefire talks with Israel this week
13 August 2024, 20:40 | Updated: 13 August 2024, 20:49
Hamas will not enter ceasefire talks with Israel this week as tensions rise in the Middle East, the group has confirmed.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Talks were scheduled to take place on Thursday, as world leaders desperately seek a pathway to peace amid fears of a wider war in the region.
However, representatives of the militant Palestinian group in Lebanon have today confirmed they have no plans to re-enter talks with Israel.
Representative Ahmad Abdul Hadi said Hamas was not against ceasefire talks "in principle" but would not enter discussions without "clear commitment" from Israel that a deal would be agreed, Sky News reports.
Read more: Ukraine not interested in occupying Russian territory after incursion, Kyiv says
Mr Hadi slammed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming he "is not interested in reaching an agreement that ends the aggression completely".
"Rather he is deceiving and evading and wants to prolong the war, and even expand it at the regional level, and thus he uses negotiations as a cover to continue his aggression against our people and commit more massacres against them," he added.
The last month has seen representatives from Qatar, Egypt and the US frantically working to find a ceasefire agreement as fears of a regional conflict in the Middle East rise.
Any deal is expected to come in the form of a three-phase plan, which would include the return of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The US State Department is hoping Qatar will sway Hamas in the coming days, pushing them to take part in peace talks.
"Our partners in Qatar have assured us that they will work to have Hamas represented," US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told the press on Tuesday.
These reports come just 24 hours after Sir Keir Starmer joined world leaders in calling for "de-escalation and regional stability" in the Middle East.
In a joint statement signed by Sir Keir, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the leaders urged Iran not to "jeopardise the opportunity to agree a ceasefire and the release of hostages" in Gaza.
In the statement, the three leaders said they "welcome the tireless work of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States towards an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.”
"We have been working with all parties to prevent escalation and will spare no effort to reduce tensions and find a path to stability," they added.
"The fighting must end now and all hostages still detained by Hamas must be released."
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to the October 7 attack.
