Hamas wants Gaza mediation based on past talks

CAIRO: Palestinian militant group Hamas on Sunday (Aug 11), asked mediators to present a plan based upon previous talks instead of engaging in new negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Last week, leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar called on Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on Aug 15 in either Cairo or Doha to finalize a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
Israel said it would send negotiators to take part in the meeting. Hamas initially said it was studying the offer but has now hinted it may stay out of the new round of talks.
“The movement calls on the mediators to present a plan to implement what was agreed upon by the movement on Jul 2, 2024, based on Biden’s vision and the UN Security Council resolution,” Hamas said in a statement.
“The mediators should enforce this on the occupation (Israel) instead of pursuing further rounds of negotiations or new proposals that would provide cover for the occupation’s aggression and grant it more time to continue its genocide against our people,” the statement said.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry.
Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and director of Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco, said the ongoing war has raised the possibility of a broader conflict in the region which “would be a far greater tragedy”.
The likelihood of a ceasefire deal depends on how hard the US “will push its ally Israel to move forward”, he told CNA’s Asia First on Monday. 
“The United States has this role of being both the chief mediator of these peace proposals, while simultaneously being the primary military financial and diplomatic supporter of one of the two parties – the more powerful of the two parties,” he added. 
“So it does come down, I think, to the Biden administration being willing to put some real pressure on Israel by perhaps threatening to withhold military aid.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has an incentive to drag the war on as long as possible, as he is “primarily interested in his own political survival”, said Zunes.
“Given that Netanyahu is under multiple indictments for various corruption charges and everything, when he no longer has the immunity as prime minister, he could quite literally go to jail.”