TEHRAN- Israeli media have waged propaganda against Hamas after the Palestinian resistance movement put a condition on its participation in the upcoming ceasefire negotiations over the war in Gaza.

Truce talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar are slated for Thursday in either Cairo or Doha.

Ahead of the meeting, the regime’s news outlets have falsely claimed that Hamas has rejected the framework of talks. 

However, the resistance movement said in a statement on Sunday that it wants mediators to present a ceasefire plan based upon earlier negotiations rather than starting fresh talks. 

Since Israel declared war on Gaza on October 7, it has either derailed or sabotaged talks aimed at ending the onslaught which has so far claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children. 

Only in one case Israel agreed to a temporary truce agreement. The deal agreed in November last year saw Hamas free more than 100 Israeli and foreign captives in return for a week-long ceasefire and the release of some 240 Palestinian prisoners in the regime’s jails. 

More than 1,100 people were killed and about 250 others taken captive when Hamas carried out the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation, a surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, which was followed by the regime’s genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian territory. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the onslaught until achieving “total victory” over Hamas and “destroying” the movement. But he has failed to deliver on his promise more than 10 months after the start of the war. 

Meanwhile, Israel’s main ally, the United States, has spared no effort to provide unwavering support for Israel’s war machine. 

But amid growing domestic and international opposition to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, the administration of President Joe Biden proposed a ceasefire plan on May 31.

Israel has launched a propaganda campaign against Hamas by falsely accusing the resistance movement of opposing the framework of negotiations.  On June 10, the United Nations Security Council approved a US resolution backing its ceasefire plan.

The US claimed that Netanyahu had agreed to the plan. The Israeli premier, however, did not state directly whether he supported the American initiative which will ultimately end the Gaza war. His army has also continued its war of genocide against Gaza even after the Security Council overwhelmingly passed the resolution. 

But Hamas welcomed the resolution urging the US to provide guarantees that Israel will abide by the resolution and implement it. 

Hamas position 

Hamas has doubled down on its position and demanded in its Sunday statement that Bidne’s plan be implemented. 

According to the statement, Hamas "demands that the mediators present a plan to implement what they proposed to the movement... based on Biden's vision and the UN Security Council resolution, and compel the [Israeli] occupation to comply."

It added, "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."

Calls grew for a ceasefire after an Israeli airstrike killed more than 100 people at a school that was sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City on Saturday. The extent of the Israeli brutality that was unfolded after the attack sparked a global outcry. 

Political propaganda 

Netanyahu has reiterated that he would not agree to any deal that stipulates an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.

The Israeli prime minister only wants a ceasefire deal to secure the release of the remaining captives who are held in Gaza. He has been under immense domestic pressure for failing to free the captives. 

Hence, a truce only serves as a political ploy for Netanyahu. His cabinet is after fresh talks instead of following up the previous negotiations in order to buy time and divert attention away from the regime’s crimes, in particular the latest carnage in the Gaza City school.

But Hamas has got wise to such dirty tricks. Netanyahu’s political life depends on prolonging the Gaza war. This is because a permanent state of war provides him with a lifeline to evade responsibility and accountability for his failure to predict and prevent the Al-Aqsa Strom Operation. 

Presently, Israeli media and the regime’s Western allies have resorted to a blame game to smear Hamas for the failure of ceasefire talks. 

But the Hamas statement has thrown a spotlight on such plots. 

Besides, Palestinians have realized that Israel will only acquiesce to a ceasefire and end the war when the regime’s army is brought to its knees in the battlefield.