Hamas and Netanyahu accuse each other of obstructing the ceasefire agreement

For his part, Netanyahu repeated on Sunday that it is Hamas that is preventing a ceasefire agreement.

– They did not even send a representative to the talks in Doha. Therefore, the pressure should be directed at Hamas and Sinwar, not the Israeli government, Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting where he described Hamas as “obstinate”.

He was referring to Yahya Sinwar, who took over as Hamas’s supreme leader when Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Iran in July.

Hamas said before the previous round of negotiations in Doha that there is no need for new negotiations, as it believes that the US ceasefire proposal should be implemented now. The proposal was embraced by the UN Security Council in June.

– We ask the mediators to take responsibility and force the occupier to implement what was agreed upon, says Hamas in a statement on Sunday.

According to Hamas, the new proposal presented by the US in Doha is a response to Netanyahu’s demands, and in particular the rejection of a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

According to Hamas, Netanyahu insists on continuing to occupy the Netzarim crossing, the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphia Corridor.

The latter two are considered important for Israel to prevent the flow of weapons into Gaza. The Netzarim junction is located at a strategically important point on the main road between northern and southern Gaza.