Hamas: No partial truce, only comprehensive deal with war-ending guarantees acceptable

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi made the remarks on Saturday as a delegation from the group is slated to meet Egyptian mediators in the capital Cairo to negotiate a long-term truce deal with Tel Aviv.

“The mediators and the American administration now understand our position, which is a comprehensive deal without fragmentation,” Mardawi said.

“We will offer sufficient flexibility to reach a comprehensive exchange deal that ends the war, ensures the complete withdrawal of the occupation, provides relief to the people, and enables reconstruction.”

The Hamas official underlined the resistance movement’s demands and said a comprehensive deal would deter the occupying regime from resuming its genocidal war against Gaza.

“We will insist on guarantees regarding the end of the war. The occupation can resume fighting after any partial deal but cannot do so under a comprehensive deal backed by international guarantees. We will demand that these guarantees be included in any agreement,” Mardawi said.

“Negotiations are ongoing regarding the details of the comprehensive deal. We will not accept handing over a soldier from here and a body from there in exchange for just a few days of calm,” he added.

Taher al-Nono, another senior Hamas official, confirmed that the group’s negotiating delegation would head to Cairo on Saturday to meet with Egyptian officials.

Pointing to the group’s disarmament ahead of the talks, the Hamas official said, "The resistance's weapons are not up for negotiation and will remain in our hands as long as the occupation continues."

Palestine’s resistance news network quoted an unnamed Hamas official as saying, "Hamas is responding positively to any proposal that leads to a definitive end to the war, and not to partial deals that let the Israeli occupation achieve its goal of easing internal pressure by releasing a handful of Israeli captives."

Another Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was cited by AFP as saying that Hamas is open to an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the one-time release of all remaining captives and abductees as well as a five-year cessation of hostilities.

“Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years,” the official told AFP.

The Israeli regime was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas in January, given the regime’s failure to achieve any of its objectives, including the “elimination” of the Palestinian resistance movement or the release of captives.

The 42-day first stage of the truce, which was marred by repeated Israeli violations, expired on March 1, but Israel is refraining from stepping into talks for the subsequent stages of the agreement.

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has so far resulted in at least 51,355 documented Palestinian fatalities, with over 117,248 others injured.

Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israel's unrelenting onslaught.

The regime's merciless attacks continue unabated despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.