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Middle East conflict

Israel, Hamas far from reaching deal on ceasefire in Gaza — Netanyahu

According to the Israeli prime minister, Hamas is not ready to strike a deal and wants Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip without preconditions

NEW YORK, September 5. /TASS/. Israel and the Hamas movement are still far from reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

On Wednesday, a high-ranking US Administration representative said that the new US plan for a ceasefire in Gaza has been effectively been negotiated by 90%.

"No, it's exactly inaccurate," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News, answering a question.

According to the prime minister, Hamas is not ready to strike a deal and wants Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip without preconditions.

"So Hamas is not there with a deal. There's not a deal in the making, unfortunately," Netanyahu added.

On August 15-16, negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and liberation of Israeli hostages took place in Doha. The joint statement, adopted by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, said that the negotiations went in a positive atmosphere. The next round took place in Cairo on August 25. The Israeli delegation was led by Mossad Director David Barnea. The Hamas representative said that the movement’s delegation left Cairo after meeting with mediators from Egypt and Qatar, after demanding that they oblige Israel to fulfill the agreements, reached on July 2. On August 28, the mediators’ working groups met in Doha once again.

On September 2, Axios reported citing the US Administration that US President Joe Biden intends to present the final version of the ceasefire deal in the upcoming days. It is expected that Israel and Hamas will have one week to provide their responses to the new US proposal.

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Benjamin Netanyahu

Middle East conflict

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