Hamas says it seeks a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli pullout, rejecting conditions for its removal from Gaza.
Hamas has proposed to release all captives remaining in the Gaza Strip in “one go” in exchange for a lasting truce and a complete Israeli army withdrawal from the besieged enclave.
In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem outlined the group’s vision for the second phase of the ceasefire deal which includes the proposed exchange.
“We are ready for a second phase in which the prisoners will be exchanged in one go, within the criterion of reaching an agreement that leads to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Strip,” Qassem said.
The group also rejected Israel’s call for its disarmament and removal from the Strip.
“The occupation’s condition of removing Hamas from the Gaza Strip is a ridiculous psychological war, and the withdrawal or disarmament of the resistance from Gaza is unacceptable,” Qassem added.
Qassem also addressed the group’s decision to increase the number of captives to be freed during the next swap on Saturday from three to six. The decision was announced by Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya a day earlier in an apparent bid to accelerate the implementation of phase two of the deal.
“Doubling the number of prisoners to be released was done in response to a request from the mediators and to prove our seriousness in implementing all the terms of the agreement,” Qassem said in Wednesday’s statement.
The proposal comes after United States President Donald Trump spoke out against the phased weekly release of the captives taken from Israel, and after families of those remaining in Gaza called for all of them to be freed together.
Israel ‘not able to defeat Hamas’
Accelerating the implementation of the deal was also seemingly made in trade for Israel’s allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have continued to seal shut vital border crossings throughout its genocide, preventing the entry of basic supplies, as well as reconstruction materials.
Last week, Hamas threatened to hold up the release, citing Israel’s refusal to allow in mobile homes and heavy equipment, among other violations of the agreement, including attacks on Palestinians.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 48,291 deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, while 111,722 people have been wounded. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are now presumed dead.
Rebuilding Gaza could cost $53.2bn, according to a report released by the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union on Tuesday, including about $15.2bn for housing.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said the “bigger problem” is not going to be phase one, but phase two or three of the ceasefire deal.
He said Hamas and Israel have been trying to take the moral high ground, with their captive and prisoner swaps.
“The problem for Israel is that despite having the upper hand, it’s not able to defeat Hamas,” he said. “But here we are and Israel is dictating the process – when and where aid goes in. And as long as those alternative housing units are not getting in, it’s making things quite difficult for the Palestinians.”
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on January 19, after more than 460 days of the war. Since then, Israel has violated the agreement multiple times, with its leaders discussing the possibility of an imminent return to all-out fighting in Gaza and the far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet even pushing for a military occupation of the enclave.
Since the deal, a total of 1,135 Palestinians have been freed from Israeli prisons. Israel is scheduled to release 502 more Palestinians this week. After last week’s handover, the number of captives released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad has reached 25 since January 19.
