Israel only to retrieve hostages through prisoners’ swap: Hamas

Gaza: Israel will only be able to “get its captives back” through a prisoner exchange deal, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said in a press statement.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delusional if he thinks he can achieve his goals through the starvation war imposed on the Gaza Strip,” Mardawi said on Sunday.

Mardawi reaffirmed Hamas’s refusal to extend the first phase of the agreement with Israel, stressing the need to implement all its phases as originally signed, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also called on mediators to ensure Israel adhered to the terms of the agreement, as agreed upon.

The first 42-day phase of the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel, which included increased humanitarian aid, expired on Saturday. Under the agreement, both sides were expected to negotiate a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire.

However, on Friday, Israel presented a new framework that would extend the first phase for an additional 42 days, until after the Muslim and Jewish holidays of Ramadan and Passover, which end on April 20. Hamas said Saturday that the Israeli proposal is “unacceptable.”

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has decided “to prevent any entry of goods and supplies into Gaza” to pressure Hamas into accepting the extension proposal, which he said was put forth by US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

–IANS