UN chief says resumption of Gaza fighting must be avoided ‘at all costs’
Antonio Guterres has told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the “precarious” ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza must be kept intact. “We must avoid at all costs a resumption of hostilities. The people in Gaza have already suffered too much,” he said.
The UN secretary-general also voiced alarm at rising Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank. “I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation,” Guterres said.
Hamas in contact with mediators about Israel’s ‘repeated violations’
Abdul Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas, says Israel’s failure to implement all the provisions of the first phase of the ceasefire “does not serve to move forward towards completing the release of the remaining Israeli captives”.
“The resistance will not engage in any new negotiations unless the occupation adheres to the agreement and implements the requirements of the first phase,” he said in a statement on Telegram.
“The failure to implement the humanitarian protocol and the postponement of the release of the seventh batch of prisoners show the occupation’s intentions to disrupt the agreement.”
Al-Qanou added that the movement is in contact with the mediators about Israel’s “repeated violations”.
His statement comes as questions grow over the future of the ceasefire after Israel failed to release the 620 Palestinian prisoners who were due to be freed under the agreement on Saturday.
The Palestinian group released six Israeli captives in line with the agreement hours before Israel announced its decision. Israel also prevents temporary shelters and heavy machinery from entering Gaza – another clause of the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
‘All options on the table’ about future of ceasefire: Naim
Asked about the immediate future of the ceasefire and whether the Palestinian group would release the bodies of four Israeli captives as scheduled this week, he responded that “all options are on the table”.
“Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step, which was releasing 620 prisoners, are already released,” the member of Hamas’s political bureau told Al Jazeera.
“Because Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal, he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war. Therefore, what are the guarantees that he might take the other four bodies and again not release the agreed-upon number of Palestinians plus the 620 Palestinians?”
Naim reiterated: “All options are on the table, not only what should happen on Thursday but even the other elements of the deal.”
Hamas ready to hand over Gaza gov’t to any Palestinian body representing all Palestinians: Official
In his interview with Al Jazeera, Naim has also expressed Hamas’s condemnation of the Israeli offensive in the northern West Bank and “unfortunately the silence of the international community towards what’s happening there”, referring to “the continuous killing and the destruction against our refugees in the different refugee camps in the north”.
Asked about what role Hamas wants to play in terms of the running of Gaza in the future, Naim replied that even before the October 7, 2023, attacks, the group had stated many times it was “ready to give up” governing the territory.
“We are ready to hand over the government in the Gaza Strip to any Palestinian body representing all Palestinians, a unity government, a technocratic government, a special body formed only to run the Gaza Strip in cooperation or in coordination or as a reference with the government in Ramallah – we are ready to do it,” he said.
“Unfortunately, all these proposals are rejected from the PA leadership in Ramallah, and we have said they can come and they can have all the facilitation to run everything inside the Gaza Strip.”
