ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A senior Hamas leader on Thursday dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims that the Palestinian militant group had backtracked on the Gaza ceasefire, brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.
"There is no basis to Netanyahu's claims about the movement backtracking from terms in the ceasefire agreement," Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas leader told AFP.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office on Thursday accused Hamas of backtracking from certain parts of the ceasefire agreement, threatening they would not meet on the truce deal until Hamas has accepted all the elements of the agreement.
Israel and Hamas on Wednesday reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement following high-level negotiations in Doha.
The ceasefire will take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The terms of a broader peace deal would be finalized once the first phase of the ceasefire has concluded.
"Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions", Netanyahu's office announced in a statement, describing the setback as a "last-minute crisis".
The PM’s office statement added that the Israeli cabinet "will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement."
The ceasefire came after months of diplomatic efforts to end over 15 months of conflict between Israel and Hamas that has claimed over 46,500 lives and left more than 109,000 injured.
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