Hamas: Any Truce Deal Must Be on Terms of Palestinian Resistance

By Staff, Agencies

The head of Hamas’ political bureau says the Palestinian resistance movement "is nearing" a truce agreement with the “Israeli” entity, and that any ceasefire deal must be on the terms of Palestinian resistance.

“We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Tuesday.

Hamas, he added, had delivered its response to Qatari officials, who are brokering the indirect negotiations between the Gaza-based group and the “Israeli” regime.

Meanwhile, senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq told Al Jazeera TV that the details of the deal will be released “in the coming hours.”

The truce would last for multiple days and see the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of a prisoner swap deal, he said.

Two sources familiar with the truce talks told AFP that a tentative deal includes a five-day ceasefire on the ground and limits to “Israeli” aerial assaults over southern Gaza in return for the release of between 50 and 100 “Israelis” held captive by Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance group.