Khalil Al-Hayya, acting head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, said that there will be no prisoner exchange deal with Israel until the end of the war in the Strip.

Al-Hayya added in an interview with Al-Aqsa TV that "without stopping the war, there will be no prisoner exchange. It is an interconnected equation. We say very clearly: We want this aggression to stop, and it must stop first in order for any prisoner exchange to take place."

He revealed that there are ongoing contacts with countries and mediators to move the ceasefire negotiations forward, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing any progress in the ceasefire negotiations for political reasons.

The Hamas leader stressed the movement's readiness for ceasefire efforts, but the most important thing is the existence of a real will on the part of the occupation, according to his expression.

The Israeli Prime Minister rejected a request from the negotiating team to expand his powers to enable him to reach a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

For months, the Israeli negotiating team has been complaining, according to media reports and opposition leaders, about the lack of powers granted to it by Netanyahu, which prevents reaching an agreement through indirect negotiations with Hamas.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said on its website that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz "rejected the proposals of the negotiating team leaders regarding a deal to return the kidnapped (Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip), as they sought to expand the scope of powers to conduct negotiations and bypass the issue of ending the war."

Netanyahu insists on continuing to occupy the Netzarim axis in the middle of the Gaza Strip, the Philadelphi axis and the Rafah crossing (south), and refuses to stop the war within the framework of any prisoner exchange deal, while Hamas insists on ending the war and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army.