A senior political leader in Hamas has reiterated that they are ready to “hand over all the prisoners immediately” if such a move would bring an end to the ongoing war.
Basem Naim, said he thinks US President Donald Trump “can do it if he exercises enough pressure on the Israelis to end this war immediately,” adding that Trump “has the capability and the will to reach this peaceful situation.”
“We are ready to cooperate with him to achieve this goal of a more peaceful region,” he told Sky News.
He stressed that Gaza and Gazans are deserving, like all other people everywhere, to live in peace and dignity.
“We have said it for all the mediators and for the Americans, we are ready to hand over all the prisoners immediately, if we can be sure that this will lead to an end of this war,” Naim said in response to a question whether they are willing to hand over hostages.
He noted that they conveyed through the mediators and directly through “some persons in the US administrations,” that they are calling for total withdrawal of the Israeli forces, allowing aid to get into Gaza and rebuilding of the strip without forced migration.
He said that Hamas has accepted an Egyptian peace proposal, which is “about forming a Palestinian, independent, politically unaffiliated body to run the Gaza Strip.”
But he added: “Before that, as long as we are still occupied people, we have all the right to continue defending our people and resisting the occupation with all means, including under resistance.”
In response to the interview, White House National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt, told Sky News that Hamas “has not demonstrated they are serious about peace.”
Hewitt said Trump “has been clear Hamas must lay down their arms.”
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.