Posted on 08/19/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan on Monday criticized US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an updated proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Hamdan told Reuters that Blinken’s statement "raises many ambiguities" because it is "not what was presented to us nor what we agreed on."
He added that Hamas has already confirmed to mediators that "we don't need new Gaza ceasefire negotiations, we need to agree on an implementation mechanism."
Hamdan also told Reuters that the group’s new chief Yahya Sinwar, who was recently named Ismail Haniyeh’s replacement as head of Hamas’ political bureau, has always been part of the decision making process in the Gaza ceasefire talks.
“Due to security conditions, communication with Sinwar has tools and mechanisms in place yet they are operating smoothly,” Hamdan stated.
Hamdan’s comments came after Blinken told reporters that Netanyahu told him that he accepts the ceasefire deal proposed by the US last week and that they are now waiting to hear that Hamas has done the same.