Hamas official slams US handling of hostage talks

Hamas official Osama Hamdan tells the Lebanese Al Mayadeen outlet that the terror group demands practical steps for what was previously agreed upon, rather than ongoing negotiations.

The outlet, which is affiliated with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group, also quotes Hamdan as charging that the US is looking to disseminate positive messages about the Gaza negotiations to boost Vice President Kamala Harris’s election campaign.

“We refuse to receive information from the media, and we have already informed the mediators that we are waiting to hear from them that the occupation has agreed to what was announced,” the Hamas official is quoted as saying.

“Tomorrow we face two options: If the entity agrees to the initiative, we will discuss the execution phase, or if we hear otherwise, we will inform them then of our position,” he adds.

A high-level Israeli delegation met with negotiators in Cairo this week for talks centered on finding a formula for the deployment of IDF troops along the Gaza-Egypt border that Jerusalem and Cairo could agree upon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that an Israeli presence on the Philadelphi Corridor — the buffer zone that separates Egypt from Israel and Gaza Strip — is vital to preventing Hamas from re-arming, while Hamas and Egypt want to see Israeli forces withdraw entirely.