Hamas renews call for Israel to leave south Gaza
The Hamas militant group on Thursday renewed a demand for Israeli troops to withdraw from south Gaza, accusing Israel of seeking to breach the terms of a ceasefire in talks on the next phase of the accord.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that Israeli forces should have pulled out of a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border under the first phase of the ceasefire that started on 18 January.
Hamas has accused Israel of keeping troops in the strategic Philadelphi Corridor. Israel has insisted it needs to maintain control of the corridor to prevent weapons smuggling into the Palestinian territory from Egypt.
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Qassem indicated that the corridor had become one of the sticking points at Qatari-US mediated talks in Doha on the next phase of the ceasefire.
"Reports indicate new proposals are being presented aimed at circumventing the Gaza agreement," Qassem told AFP.
"Meetings are continuing with mediators in Doha. We adhere to what was agreed upon and to entering into the second phase," he added.
But he insisted that Israel must also fulfil its obligations "withdrawing from the entire Gaza Strip" and "begin the withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor" for any second phase deal to end the war that started with the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.
"Israel has not implemented the humanitarian protocol of the Gaza agreement," Qassem added. Israel has stopped humanitarian aid entering Gaza since March 2 to back its demand that Hamas release all remaining hostages held since the 2023 attacks.
"We do not want to return to war again, and if the occupation resumes its aggression, we have no choice but to defend our people," the spokesman said.
The first phase of the ceasefire ended on March 1 without an accord on the following stages. Israel has only agreed to extend the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire.
The second phase was meant to lead to an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of the process of ending the war that has devastated Gaza and left tens of thousands dead.
Israeli negotiators went to Doha this week to take part in the talks.
Israeli media said on Thursday that Israel had called for several living and dead hostages -- from the 58 still unaccounted for in Gaza -- to be handed over in exchange for a 50-day extension to the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the reports "fake news".
