Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 17, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Hamas’s Haniyeh blames Israel for lack of truce progress, demands complete halt to war
This handout picture provided by the Iranian foreign ministry on December 20, 2023, shows Qatar-based Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh speaking to journalists as he welcomes the Iranian foreign minister (not in the picture), in Doha. (Iranian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh blames Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a truce deal in Gaza, the terror group says in a statement.
Haniyeh adds that Hamas “will not accept anything less than a complete cessation of the aggression, withdrawal of the occupation army from Gaza and lifting of the unjust siege.”
Haniyeh also insists that Israel free Palestinian security prisoners serving long sentences in any deal to free the hostages being held by Hamas.
There are more than 500 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli jails, most of them for deadly terror attacks.
