Beirut, May 5 (RHC)-- A senior member of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Israel’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip would end immediately if the United States decided it should stop.
Osama Hamdan, who represents Hamas in Lebanon, made the remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, as ceasefire talks to halt almost seven months of the regime’s brutal war against Gaza have resumed. “We have to talk about the real position of the United States because that is the main issue which will affect the position of the Israelis and mainly” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Hamdan said.
“If the United States administration has said clearly to Netanyahu, enough is enough… I assure you that will happen,” he added. The Hamas official further noted that during three months of negotiations to end Israel’s aggression against Gaza, there have been “some forward steps.
He also hailed the mediation efforts of Egypt and Qatar, expressing hope to achieve the main goal, which is a complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Hamdan went on to say that Israel's planned invasion of Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah is a "key element" of the talks, stressing that Netanyahu’s recent statement that the regime would go ahead with invading the city “with or without” a truce deal should be clarified.
"We want clarity on what this statement means... our understanding is that any achievement for a ceasefire means that there will be no more attacks against Gaza and Rafah," he said.
Earlier in the day, a Hamas delegation arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo to resume ceasefire talks in the latest effort to halt the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
Al-Qahera News, linked to Egyptian intelligence services, quoted an unnamed high-ranking source as saying that “there is significant progress in the negotiations” between Hamas and Israel, adding that the Egyptian mediators have “reached an agreed-upon formula on most points of contention.”
Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, has already cited Netanyahu’s insistence on carrying out a ground invasion against Rafah as a key stumbling block in negotiations aimed at the potential arrival of a deal.
While Hamas has demanded a lasting ceasefire, Netanyahu has vowed to launch an offensive in Rafah, which is home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who have been displaced due to Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign in the besieged territory.
Netanyahu has insisted he will send ground troops into Rafah, despite strong concerns voiced by UN agencies and it's military and polical ally Washington for the safety of the civilians inside the city.
Israel waged its brutal war on besieged Gaza on October 7th after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Tel Aviv, however, has failed to achieve its objectives in Gaza despite killing at least 34,622 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
The U.S. is a partner in the Gaza carnage as it has offered untrammeled support for Israel during the devastating onslaught, and blocked UN resolutions calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
