Hamas Says Will Not Engage in Truce Talks Unless ’Israel’ Halts ’Hunger War’ on Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

Hamas says it will not engage in new ceasefire talks with "Israel," as long as the entity continues its “hunger war” against Palestinians in Gaza.

Basem Naim, a Hamas political bureau member and former Gaza health minister, told AFP there is “no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip.”

Naim urged the international community to pressure the "Israeli" entity to end the "crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings.”

His remarks came hours after "Israel" threatened that it would launch an intensified offensive on Gaza, which, according to "Tel Aviv," would entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the new campaign will involve "Israeli" forces holding on to the seized populated territory and significant displacement of the population.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced, often multiple times, since the entity launched its genocidal war on the territory in October 2023.

The humanitarian situation in the besieged territory has grown increasingly dire since "Israel" blocked the entry of medical, fuel, and food supplies into Gaza in mid-March when it broke a two-month ceasefire agreement.

Ever since, aid organizations have repeatedly warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza was on the verge of "total collapse."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) warned this week that food supplies have now “completely run out” in both local markets and humanitarian distribution centers in Gaza.

“The population is once again at extreme risk of famine,” the PRCS said. “There is an inability to meet even the minimum daily needs of over a million displaced people.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also reiterated the need for the immediate entry of humanitarian aid and warned "Israel" against “politicization” of the aid.

Indirect talks—brokered by Qatar and Egypt— have continued since "Israel" broke the ceasefire, but yielded no results.