MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Israel sent two truce proposals to Hamas through intermediaries, but they were rejected, said Alexander Ben Zvi, Israel’s acting ambassador to Russia.
"We have sent two proposals through intermediaries, the Americans and others. For example, to release 10 hostages within 50 days of the truce. There were different options, but I won't go into details. It doesn't matter because Hamas rejected all the offers," he told TASS in an interview.
According to Zvi, "anyone who rejects settlement proposals should not be surprised if hostilities continue." He also said that any potential truce should be beneficial for both sides, not just Hamas.
"Humanitarian aid was supplied to them in very large quantities. Until now, during the truce, there were about 600 trucks a day," he said. "They take this humanitarian aid for themselves and extort the people: they take money from them or pay with humanitarian aid. Why are they doing all this? To go back and attack Israel. We cannot allow this to happen."
Speaking about the possibility of a truce, Zvi said: "If they accept the proposals from the mediators, it will be possible.
"But they must understand that there will not be a situation where they receive humanitarian aid and a ceasefire without offering anything in return. This is impossible," he said.