Senior Hamas Official: We’re Ready For Ceasefire, Serious Deal To Exchange Prisoners

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In the wake of the truce between Israel and Hezbollah, which leaves Hamas isolated in its war with Israel, a senior Hamas official said that the terrorist group is willing to make a ceasefire agreement.

“We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners,” the official told AFP. He accused Israel of obstructing such an agreement.

Officials from the US and Israel had expressed hopes as the Lebanon ceasefire took shape that the loss of Hezbollah’s military support would help push Hamas to sue for peace. The group has long maintained that it wants a ceasefire, but has been unwilling to meet Israeli demands on hostages, according to Jerusalem.

International mediators say Israeli demands regarding leaving troops in Gaza have also been an obstacle, but the situation may change as Israel can now focus all of its military efforts on the Gaza strip. The growing civilian dissent in Gaza, as well as the approach of winter with most of the local population living in tents, may also factor in Hamas’s willingness to reach an agreement.

Senior Israeli officials believe that such an agreement could include Israel maintaining control over the Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza, a demand which previously Hamas had categorically rejected.