All captives will be released from Gaza if Israel agrees to end war, Hamas says

The head of the Hamas political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Thursday that all remaining captives will be released from Gaza if Israel ends its war on the enclave.

Hamas, he said, is ready for “comprehensive package negotiations, including the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners, the complete withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, starting reconstruction, and the lifting of the siege”.

“The leadership of Hamas and the resistance factions are keen to stop the barbaric aggression and genocidal war,” he added, noting that it was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who reneged on the ceasefire agreement that started on 19 January and lasted six weeks.

The deal was meant to have three phases, but when it was time for Israel to withdraw from Gaza entirely in phase two, it reimposed a total siege on any goods, food, and aid coming into the Strip.

By 15 March, Netanyahu had resumed a full-scale war on Gaza.

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