Hamas on Saturday firmly denied that it was willing to disarm, contradicting remarks made by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff during his meeting with Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv.
In a strongly worded statement, Hamas said, “The resistance and its weapons will not be abandoned until our full national rights are restored, foremost among which is the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Witkoff told demonstrators in Tel Aviv that "Hamas has said that they are prepared to be demilitarized" and claimed that “multiple Arab governments are now demanding that Hamas demilitarize,” suggesting that a solution to end the Gaza conflict was close. His comments were reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Hamas swiftly rejected those assertions, describing Witkoff's visit to Gaza a day earlier as “a pre-scripted theatrical performance designed to mislead public opinion, whitewash the occupation's image, and provide political cover for its starvation policies and systematic killing of innocent children and civilians in Gaza.”
The group further accused the U.S. administration of being "fully complicit in these starvation crimes," after Witkoff toured a controversial aid distribution facility run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza.
The developments come as efforts to broker a ceasefire continue to stall, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.
Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, highlighting a hurdle to Iran-U.S. peace talks, as...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he will “most likely” hold bilateral talks with U.S. President Donald Trump during next month’s...
Russia has called for clarification on whether U.S. President Donald Trump has changed his position on the war in Ukraine following remarks made at th...
The European Union and Taliban officials held talks in Brussels on Tuesday on consular services and the situation of Afghans whose asylum applications...
Iran is preparing for a week-long farewell to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in February during Israeli-U.S. air r...
A United Nations enquiry has accused Israeli authorities and security forces of deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, saying the actions amounted to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, while also documenting war crimes against children in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least nine people in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, including a child and an Al Jazeera journalist, Palestinian health officials said.
At least six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes and gunfire across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, 14 June, according to local health officials, as mediators intensified efforts to keep fragile ceasefire negotiations alive.
Four Palestinians, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Monday (8 June), according to local health officials, as mediators continued efforts to preserve a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
A Ukrainian strike has damaged a school building in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to local authorities cited by the TASS news agency. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, highlighting a hurdle to Iran-U.S. peace talks, as the top U.S. diplomat tours the Middle East to win over allies sceptical about a proposed deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into "infinity, despite Tehran's denials, and that unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to buy humanitarian supplies from the United States.
Authorities in France are reporting that about 20 people have died over the weekend while swimming in unsupervised areas of rivers, lakes and coastal waters as they tried to escape the heatwave.
Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surpassed 1,000, with health officials warning that the outbreak is spreading rapidly through displacement camps and across borders.
Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, highlighting a hurdle to Iran-U.S. peace talks, as the top U.S. diplomat tours the Middle East to win over allies sceptical about a proposed deal.
Kazakhstan secured agreements and investment commitments worth $12 billion during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's official visit to Brussels on 22–23 June, underlining the growing economic importance of ties between the European Union and Central Asia's largest economy.
The United Nations Public Service Forum has opened in Tbilisi, Georgia, for the first time, bringing together 420 participants from nearly 100 countries to discuss public sector governance, digital transformation and citizen-centred service delivery.
Turkish authorities detained 209 people in anti-terrorism operations on Tuesday, prosecutors said, a day after Ankara imposed restrictions on public gatherings ahead of next month's NATO summit.
Oman has announced measures to keep vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, confirming it will maintain free passage and impose no tolls as efforts continue to restore navigation through the strategic waterway.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment