Hamas praises UN Gaza vote, signals willingness for hostage deal

Hamas thanks the UN Security Council for its demand for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, calling for “a permanent ceasefire that leads to the withdrawal of all Zionist forces from the Gaza Strip, and the return of the displaced to the homes from which they left.”

In a statement posted online, the terror group also says that it is willing “to engage in an immediate prisoner exchange process that leads to the release of prisoners on both sides.”

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacres, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid horrific acts of brutality and sexual assault. Over 100 of the hostages remain in Gaza.

The statement adds that the pause in fighting is needed to “bury our martyrs who have remained under the rubble for months” and for access to “humanitarian needs.”

“Hamas calls on the Security Council to pressure the occupation to adhere to the ceasefire and stop the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our people,” the statement says, while also calling for Palestinian statehood.