DOHA: Hamas on Wednesday rejected a ceasefire to end 16 days of deadly fighting with Israel unless the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted, its chief Khaled Meshaal said in Doha.

“We reject today... and will reject in the future” a ceasefire before negotiations on Hamas’s demands, which include lifting years of blockade against the Palestinian enclave, Meshaal told reporters.

Listing the eight-year blockade is a main demand of Hamas which also wants the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and Israel to free prisoners.

As international calls for an end to the fighting in Gaza mount, Meshaal insisted that the Islamist Hamas “welcomes all efforts to end the aggression and “does not object” to mediation by any party, including Egypt.

“We will not accept any initiative that does not lift the blockade on our people and that does not respect their sacrifices.

“Let us agree on achieving our demands and we will then agree on the zero-hour for a ceasefire,” Meshaal said.

Published in Dawn, July 24th , 2014