A report by by the Wall Street Journal citing Egyptian officials says Hamas has rejected an Israeli offer to stop fighting for one week in exchange for dozens of captives, saying the group will not discuss any releases until a ceasefire first takes hold, Al Jazeera reports.
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, told intelligence officials in Cairo during a visit on Wednesday that he was in the Egyptian capital to obtain a cease-fire and more humanitarian aid for Gaza, according to the officials.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said that the group’s “priority” was for the war to stop.
“Our vision is very clear: We want to stop the aggression,” he said. “What is going on in the ground is a big catastrophe,” added Hamad, referencing the “mass destruction and mass killing” caused by the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The member of Hamas’s political bureau said “some people” are looking for brief pauses in fighting of a few days or weeks but added that that the group would not agree to that.
“Israel will take the card of the hostages and after that they will start a new round of mass killing and massacres against our people,” he said. “We will not play this game.”
