Hamas says Israeli premier trying to ‘thwart’ Gaza truce

Hamas on Thursday accused Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to "thwart" a Gaza truce deal, after the Israeli premier said the Palestinian group has "rejected everything" in negotiations.

The blame trading comes as Netanyahu faces pressure to seal a deal that would free remaining hostages, after Israeli authorities announced on Sunday the deaths of six whose bodies were recovered from a Gaza tunnel.

"We're trying to find some area to begin the negotiations," Netanyahu said Wednesday.

"They (Hamas) refuse to do that... (They said) there's nothing to talk about."

Netanyahu maintains that Israel must retain control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas, whose October 7 attack on Israel started the war.

Hamas is demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from the area and on Thursday said Netanyahu's insistence on the border zone "aims to thwart reaching an agreement."

The Palestinian group says a new deal is unnecessary because they agreed months ago to a truce outlined by US President Joe Biden.

This combination shows the Israeli hostages killed by Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. File/AFP

"We do not need new proposals," the group said on Telegram.

"We warn against falling into the trap of Netanyahu and his tricks, who uses negotiations to prolong the aggression against our people," the Hamas statement added.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington thinks "there are ways to address" the impasse.

‘Not in coffins’

At Israeli protests in several cities this week, Netanyahu's critics have blamed him for hostages' deaths, saying he has refused to make necessary concessions for striking a ceasefire deal.

"We are just waiting for them to come back to us, to come back alive and not in coffins," said Anet Kidron, whose community of Kibbutz Beeri was attacked on October 7.

Netanyahu said questions remain in truce talks over the Palestinian prisoners who Israel would exchange for hostages.

People walk past posters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attacks, in Tel Aviv. File/AFP

Key mediator Qatar said on Tuesday that Israel's approach was "based on an attempt to falsify facts and mislead world public opinion by repeating lies".

Such moves "will ultimately lead to the demise of peace efforts," Qatar's foreign ministry said.

The October 7 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians including some hostages killed in captivity, according to official Israeli figures.

Of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian fighters during the attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 33 the Israeli military says are dead. Scores were released during a one-week truce in November.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has so far killed at least 40,861 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Most of the dead are women and children, according to the UN rights office.

Agence France-Presse