Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said that all the Israeli negotiating delegation wants is to “buy time,” stressing that this “demonstrates a lack of seriousness and eagerness to continue the aggression for the personal and political goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

This came in statements made by Taha in response to a statement issued by Netanyahu’s office, on behalf of the Mossad, and he said that “in the framework of the talks in Cairo, the mediators drafted a new proposal (waiting) for Hamas’ response,” without revealing the details of the alleged new proposal.

While the statement indicated that the Israeli negotiating delegation, which included representatives of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the Israeli army, held “intensive talks” during this round, it said that Israel expects the mediators to “make a greater effort” to pressure Hamas.

He claimed that "the State of Israel continues to make all necessary efforts to release the hostages from the grip of Hamas and return them to Israel," and pointed out that "Egyptian mediation is useful in pushing the negotiations forward with the aim of reaching an agreement."

At the same time, the Hamas spokesman affirmed that, “In any case, the Hamas movement is open to and studies all initiatives and proposals, which are based on the principles mentioned, with international guarantees and obligations in that regard.”

He added: “There is no doubt that the Egyptian-Qatari efforts are continuing to reach an agreement between the two sides, as the mediators are trying to bring viewpoints closer and address all controversial issues,” stressing that “Hamas’ principles are not new in this, which are a ceasefire, the return of the displaced, withdrawal, and the entry of convoys.” Relief services for all parts of the sector.

A continuation of evasion by Netanyahu and his government

Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper quoted an unnamed Hamas leader as saying, “The announcement is a continuation of the evasion pursued by the prime minister of the Israeli government.”

He stated, "What is happening is that Netanyahu and the extreme right are once again trying to escape internal pressure, with the escalation of demonstrations in Tel Aviv against them due to their failure to take the prisoner recovery issue seriously."

He pointed out that "it has become commonplace that whenever the pressure on Netanyahu from the families of the prisoners and the Israeli street increases, he tries (falsely) to pass the opposite messages by responding to the pressure and throwing the ball in the resistance's court."

He added that Netanyahu "wants to tell the Israeli street that we have responded to you, and that the resistance is the one that rejects what we proposed, and that is not true, as what was proposed does not carry a real change in line with the determinants announced by the resistance."

The same source said, "What they are talking about as a new scenario is nothing more than a slight increase in the number of women and children who can be returned to the northern Gaza Strip, and not what the resistance is adhering to is an unconditional number for all displaced people, and that families should be whole, not women and children."

He pointed out that "what they say is a new scenario, which includes among its details a preliminary truce during the days of Eid, as part of pressure on the resistance to accept the proposal that does not meet any of the principles that the resistance specified regarding the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement."