Hamas challenges Blinken's Gaza truce claim, says US buying time for Israel

Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan has refuted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an updated proposal to end the war on besieged Gaza, saying it "raises many ambiguities" because it is "not what was presented to us nor what we agreed on."

"When Blinken says that the Israelis agreed and then the Israelis say that there is an updated proposal, this means that the Americans are subject to Israeli pressure and not the other way around. We believe that it is a manoeuvre that gives the Israelis more time," senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Reuters news agency on Monday.

Hamdan told Reuters that the Palestinian resistance group has already confirmed to mediators that "we don't need new Gaza ceasefire negotiations," and that "we need to agree on an implementation mechanism."

Hamas says it has already accepted US President Joe Biden's previous proposal to end the war on Gaza and the UN Security Council decision. It says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to stick to Biden's plan and is putting up obstacles.

Hamas insists on "a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza", saying Netanyahu instead wants to keep Israeli forces at several strategic locations within the besieged territory.

Western ally Jordan, relatives of hostages and supporters of cease fire deal who protested in Tel Aviv during Blinken's visit, and Hamas have called for pressure on Netanyahu in order for an agreement to be reached.

Hamas spokesperson's remarks came after Blinken said that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the resistance group had been addressed.

Netanyahu has not commented on whether he has accepted the proposal touted by Blinken.

Hamas said Netanyahu has retracted from original US proposal, saying "Netanyahu's conditions, particularly his refusal of a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction (which separates the north and south of the Gaza), the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor (Saladin Axis) (in the south)."

"He also set new conditions in the hostage swap file and retracted other terms, which obstructs completion of the deal," Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas said it is losing faith in the US as a mediator, accusing American negotiators of siding with Israel as it makes new demands that Hamas says are a non-starter.

Meanwhile, Hamdan said Hamas' new political chief and negotiator Yahya Sinwar 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 added in an interview with Reuters.

Months of on-off negotiations with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have failed to produce an agreement

Blinken is due to travel on Tuesday to Egypt where ceasefire talks are expected to resume this week. He said he will then go on to Qatar.

Israel's genocidal war

The Biden administration, which has provided unbridled support to Israel, is under domestic pressure over Gaza. During Blinken's visit to Israel, a massive pro-Palestine protest took place outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, ahead of November's presidential election.

The US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, with more than 70 percent of its arms imports coming from the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

US-made weapons were photographed several times in Israeli strikes in Gaza although US authorities have declined to confirm.

US never holds back from arming Israel, regardless of alarming Gaza civilian casualties. The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in annual military dole and often shields its ally at the United Nations.

Tel Aviv, which is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded over 92,000 others. Thousands have perished under the debris of bombed homes while some 10,000 Palestinians have been abducted by Israeli troops.

Some 45 American physicians, surgeons and nurses, who have volunteered in Gaza since last October say the likely death toll from Israel's genocidal war is "already greater than 92,000".

According to a study published in the journal Lancet, the accumulative effects of Israel's war on Gaza could mean the true death toll could reach more than 186,000 people.