Hamas said on Thursday that they "are ready to reach a complete agreement", including a hostage exchange deal, if Israel stopped its war against people in Gaza.
They were quoted as saying in a statement by news agency Reuters that they are ready to reach a "complete agreement" if Israel "stops its war and aggression against people in Gaza".
The latest Hamas statement came as Israel pressed on with an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top UN court, to halt the attacks.
"Hamas and the Palestinian factions will not accept to be part of this policy by continuing (ceasefire) negotiations in light of the aggression, siege, starvation and genocide of our people", the Hamas statement read.
"Today, we informed the mediators of our clear position that if the occupation stops its war and aggression against our people in Gaza, our readiness (is) to reach a complete agreement that includes a comprehensive exchange deal," it added.
Israel has rejected past Hamas offers as insufficient and said it is determined to wipe out a group bent on its destruction. It says its Rafah offensive is focused on rescuing hostages and rooting out Hamas fighters.
Israel had said on Tuesday that its war on Hamas in Gaza would continue all year, after Washington said the Rafah assault did not amount to a major ground operation that would trigger a change in US policy.
Israeli tanks moved into the heart of Rafah in Gaza for the first time on Tuesday despite an order from the International Court of Justice to end its attacks on the city, where many Palestinians had taken refuge from bombardment elsewhere.
Over 35 Palestinians were killed, and dozens of others injured in Rafah, after Israeli strikes hit the southern Gaza Strip city on Sunday, according to Palestinian health and civil emergency service officials. Rafah houses hundreds of displaced Palestinians who fled the northern part of Gaza since Israel's counterattack against Hamas's October 7 assault began last year.
Source: India Today