Hamas official asserts group doesn’t want another temporary truce

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a rally organized by Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in a southern suburb of Beirut, May 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a rally organized by Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in a southern suburb of Beirut, May 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

One of Hamas’s senior officials in Lebanon says there have been no talks regarding a hostage deal in exchange for another temporary truce amid reports in Hebrew media regarding progress toward that end.

Osama Hamdan tells Al Jazeera that Hamas has informed mediators that the terror group’s priority is a permanent ceasefire and that there is currently no talk of releasing hostages before the fighting stops.

The Hamas official goes on to accuse Israel of leaking false information in order to fend off mounting domestic pressure on the government for a hostage deal.

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