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.
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The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet say they carried out targeted strikes on Hamas operatives and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip on Thursday (8 January) after detecting a failed rocket launch from the Gaza City area.
Israeli air strikes in Gaza and Lebanon have raised fresh concerns about the durability of ceasefire agreements, after deadly attacks were reported in both territories.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
Italian authorities have arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through Italy based charities, prosecutors said on Saturday, in an operation coordinated by anti mafia and anti terrorism units.
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