TEHRAN – Gaza would not entertain the prospect of a prisoner exchange with Israel until various critical issues are addressed, according to a senior Hamas member talking to the Tehran Times during the 24th Iran Media Exhibition in Tehran.

“Talking about conditions [for a ceasefire] is meaningless when Israeli attacks persist with no sign of abating. First the Israeli attacks must stop. Then we should discuss issues like the reconstruction of Gaza and aid to the Palestinians,” Osama Hamdan, Hamas’ representative in Lebanon and part of the group’s politburo told the Tehran Times on Sunday adding that war prisoner exchange comes after all those issues are solved.

The remarks come as Israel says it is preparing to launch onslaughts on Rafah city in Southern Gaza which currently shelters over 1.5 million displaced Palestinians. The plan has been slammed by rights groups who say such offensive would lead to a humanitarian disaster.

Hamdan also commented on a corridor that has been formed in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in order to help Israel bypass a Yemeni-induced blockade in the Red Sea.

“I think this corridor will not work as they wish, and I hope the people of these countries will act against it. I must add the fact that Israel had to establish this corridor goes to show how effective Ansarullah’s efforts in the Red Sea have been so far,” the Hamas member stated.

Yemen’s armed forces have been targeting Israeli-owned or Israeli-bound ships in the Red Sea to force the regime to stop its attacks on the Besieged Gaza Strip where over 30,000 civilians have been killed so far.

The UK and U.S. have been carrying out airstrikes on Yemeni soil in response, without managing to falter the impoverished country’s solidarity with the Palestinians.