Hamas accuse Netanyahu of trying to 'thwart' Gaza ceasefire deal as he insists on Philadelphi Corridor control
Hamas accuse Netanyahu of trying to 'thwart' Gaza ceasefire deal as he insists on Philadelphi Corridor control
Hamas also said that a new ceasefire deal 'isn't needed' as the Palestinian group had already agreed on the proposal outlined by the US at the end of May.
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Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected Hamas' request of withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza [Getty/file photo]
Hamas on Thursday accused Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to "thwart" a Gaza truce deal, after the Israeli premier said the Palestinian militant 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.
Netanyahu maintains that Israel must retain control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border, whereas Hamas is demanding 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.
"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.
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, a protester.
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.
Israel's military 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. There are 97 captives who remain in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli army says are dead.
Widespread Israeli bombardment overnight into Thursday included a strike which killed four people sheltering in tents near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, a medical source told AFP.
In a separate strike in the southern Al-Mawasi area, a missile killed one and wounded several others, Palestinian Red Crescent Society medics said.
While Israel presses its deadly Gaza offensive, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the military should use its "full strength" against Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli raids since August 28 have been ongoing.
"These terrorist organisations that have various names, whether in Nur al-Shams, Tulkarem, Faraa or Jenin, must be wiped out," he said, referring to cities and refugee camps where an Israeli military operation is currently underway.
A strike on a car killed five men aged 21 to 30 and wounded two others, the territory's health ministry said.
Eyewitnesses told AFP they saw a large number of Israeli troops storming Fara'a camp, where explosions were heard.
The Red Crescent said the Israeli military handed over the dead body of a 17-year-old in Faraa camp, after medics were prevented from reaching him when he was wounded.
Israel has killed at least 35 Palestinians across the northern West Bank since its assault there, according to figures released by the health ministry.
The raids have been described as the most large-scale since the Second Intifada, over two decades ago.
"Panic spread as the army was blowing up everything around without taking into consideration that there were children," Hanan Natour, a resident of Jenin refugee camp, told AFP on Wednesday.
Israeli troops have destroyed infrastructure in Jenin and elsewhere in the West Bank, with the United Nations reporting the military restricting hospital access and using "war-like tactics".
Israel's bombardment of Gaza has left the territory in ruins, with the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure blamed for the spread of disease.
The humanitarian crisis has led to Gaza's first polio case in 25 years, prompting a massive vaccination effort launched Sunday with localised "humanitarian pauses" in fighting.
Nearly 200,000 children in central Gaza have received a first dose, the World Health Organization said, with a second stage set to get underway Thursday in the south before medics move north.
The campaign aims to fully vaccinate more than 640,000 children, with second doses due in about four weeks.
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