“No one has any idea” how many of the Israeli citizens taken hostage by militants of the Palestinian organization Hamas last October, and still detained in Gaza, are still alive, due to the chaos and destruction caused by the fighting in the Strip. This was stated by the spokesperson and member of the political bureau of Hamas, Osama Hamdan, during an interview granted to the television broadcaster “Cnn”. Hamdan also said that the US-sponsored plan for a ceasefire in Gaza does not respond to Hamas’s call for a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza. The Palestinian organization, added the spokesperson, also needs “a clear position from Israel regarding the ceasefire, its complete withdrawal from Gaza, and the recognition of the Palestinians’ right to independently determine their future, reconstruction, the end of the siege… and we are ready to discuss a fair agreement for the exchange of prisoners.”
Hamdan explained that the duration of the ceasefire is a crucial issue for Hamas: the organization asks for guarantees that Israel does not intend to launch a new phase of the invasion of Gaza as soon as the hostages are freed. The cessation of hostilities, the spokesman declared, “must be permanent”, and Israel must withdraw all its forces from Gaza. “Israel wants a ceasefire for just six weeks, and then wants to resume the fight. I think the Americans, so far, have not been able to convince the Israelis to accept (a permanent cessation of hostilities)“the spokesperson said. Israel has not yet publicly expressed its support for the US ceasefire plan, although the White House has repeatedly stated that the Israeli government has accepted the terms.
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