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Hamas: Gaza siege must end in order for ceasefire to continue

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A senior Hamas leader said Wednesday that Israel must lift its eight-year blockade on the Gaza Strip if it wants a ceasefire with the group to continue.
Mahmoud Zahhar, a senior figure within the group, said that Hamas’ message to “the enemy” is that it will not “accept the siege” based on current realities.

“The price of the ceasefire agreement reached after the summer battle is ending the siege on the Gaza Strip,” Zahhar told participants during a closing ceremony for a summer camp organized by Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.

The Hamas leader said the group will not abandon Palestinian prisoners following unrest among detainees in Israeli jails, and warned Israeli settlers that they will receive the “treatment they deserve” following the burning of 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha in the Nablus village of Duma.

While an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Aug. 26, ending a nearly 50-day war between the two sides, pledges to resume follow-up talks regarding longer term relations were delayed several times and never formally resumed.

Israel’s war took a heavy toll on Gaza, killing 2,251 Palestinians, including at least 1,500 civilians and more than 500 children. Seventy-three people were killed on the Israeli side, including 67 soldiers.

The blockade, as well as a lack of financing from international donors, have been blamed for the slow pace of reconstruction in Gaza, where around 18,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged and up to 120,000 Gazans remain homeless, according to UNRWA. MAAN


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