Israeli strike against leaders in Doha won’t change Gaza ceasefire demands, says Hamas

(Forelines) – An official stated cited by Reuters on Thursday that the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar this week will not alter the Palestinian organization’s demands for an end to the fighting in Gaza.

In what U.S. officials called a unilateral escalation that did not benefit either Israel or the United States, Israel sought to assassinate Hamas top leaders Tuesday with an airstrike on Doha, Reuters added.

Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said, quoted by Reuters, in a televised speech that the hit was directed at the group’s negotiation team while they were debating a fresh ceasefire proposal that the prime minister of Qatar had presented the day before.

“At the moment of the terrorist attack, the negotiating delegation was in the process of discussing its response to the proposal”, he stated, Reuters cited.

Negotiations to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war have been hosted and mediated by Qatar, as per report.

Hamas’s main demands, which include a complete ceasefire, Israeli forces leaving Gaza, a genuine prisoner-for-hostage swap, humanitarian aid, and enclave restoration, were reiterated by Barhoum, Reuters reported.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, is promoting a solution that would see Hamas surrender and the immediate release of all hostages, Reuters further stated,

According to Reuters, five Hamas members, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s chief negotiator and exiled Gaza commander, were murdered in the strike, according to Hamas.

The European Union and other regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, condemned the attack on Doha, which might jeopardize U.S.-backed efforts to mediate a ceasefire and put an end to the conflict that has been going on for almost two years.