Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Hamas says ending war ‘humanitarian and moral duty’

Hamas has released a statement following a UN conference in New York addressing the Israel-Palestine issue, after which attendees voiced “unwavering support” for a two-state solution.

Hamas said that “any effort made at the international level to support our Palestinian people and their legitimate rights is appreciated and welcomed”.

However, it noted that no progress could be made until Israel ended its war in Gaza, which would mean “halting the crime of genocide and the systematic starvation policy practiced by the occupation forces”.

Hamas added that it was ready to resolve the war – and release remaining Israeli captives – via a ceasefire agreement that saw a “complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the opening of crossings, and the immediate commencement of reconstruction”.

The group underscored the need to move towards a political process “leading to the end of the occupation and achieving our people’s aspirations to establish their fully sovereign independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital”.

Hamas: Ready to negotiate once aid reaches Gaza’s starving

The Palestinian group says in a statement released via its Telegram channel that it is ready to “immediately” engage in negotiations to end the war in Gaza “once aid reaches those who deserve it and the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza are ended”.

“Continuing negotiations in the shadow of starvation lose their substance and usefulness, especially after the criminal Zionist occupation withdrew from the negotiations last week without justification, at a time when we were on the verge of reaching an agreement”, the statement reads.

Israel indeed walked away from negotiations last week after Hamas submitted what it said was a “positive” and “constructive” response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire it was handed.

The US then came out strongly, saying Hamas was not acting in good faith and that it was considering alternatives to end war besides a negotiated settlement.

Mediators Egypt and Qatar, however, said that progress had been made in the latest round of talks.

Islamic Jihad releases video of Israeli captive held in Gaza

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has released a six-minute video showing Israeli soldier Rom Braslavski in captivity.

The video shows Braslavski being displayed footage of starving children in Gaza among other things. The armed group did not disclose any information, only saying that this was the last message from him before PIJ lost contact with the operatives holding him.

PIJ had, on July 22 claimed, that it lost contact with operatives holding Braslavski, with the announcement coming shortly after the Israeli army launched a ground invasion of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza for the first time.

Israeli soldiers had not previously launched a ground assault there due to concerns of harming living captives held in the area. Approximately 20 of the 50 captives held in Gaza are believed to be alive.

After the video was released, Braslavski’s family said in a statement that he has been “forgotten” and is not receiving food or medicine.