CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) -Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to free an American-Israeli dual national if Israel begins the next phase of ceasefire talks towards a permanent end to the war, an offer Israel dismissed as “psychological warfare”.
Hamas said it had made the offer to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army, after receiving a proposal from mediators for negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal, which has halted major fighting since January 19 but has been in limbo for two weeks.
The group said its exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, was due to arrive in Cairo later on Friday for further ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators.
Since a temporary first phase of the ceasefire expired on March 2, Israel has rejected opening the second phase of talks, which would require it to negotiate over a permanent end to the war, the main demand of Hamas.
Israel says it wants to extend the ceasefire’s temporary first phase, a proposal backed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing hostages only under the second phase.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu’s office called the offer to release Alexander “manipulation and psychological warfare”.
“We are working with mediators for the agreement to succeed and to compel the occupation to conclude all phases of the agreement,” Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua, the Hamas spokesperson, told Reuters.
|Reuters