Hamas rejects Israel’s proposal to prolong the first phase of Alto El Fuego and publishes a new hostage video

The first phase of the High Fire Agreement reached between Israel and Hamas on January 19 and has meant the exchange of hostages kidnapped by the Paramilitary Group and Palestinian prisoners ends this Saturday without progress Towards the cessation of hostilities, in what could assume the end of this brief respite for the population of the Gaza Strip.

At the moment, neither party makes concessions. Hamas has rejected this Saturday’s proposal from extend the first phase of the agreement Del Alto El Fuego in the Gaza Strip when considering that, with that measure, the Benjamín Netanyahu government “avoids committing to end the war,” Hazem Qasem explained, one of the spokesmen of the paramilitary group, in an interview with the television channel to Araby.

Qasem has spoken in these terms before Israel’s claim, leaked already this Friday by two Egyptian security sources, to prolong the first phase of the high fire agreement for six more weeks. After knowing the will of the executive of Netanyahu, Hamas already reacted and opposed this extension.

The Palestinian political and paramilitary group He insisted this Friday to move on to the second phase of the agreement, as originally agreed, as the sources told the Reuters news agency. This new stage must include measures that lead to a permanent end of the war, such as the release of the rest of the hostages and the withdrawal of all the Israel troops of the strip, including the Philadelphia corridor.

«Israel seeks to return to hostages while Keep the option to resume fighting In Gaza, ”Qasem said Saturday, after Hamas urged the international community in his Friday statement to press the Netanyahu government to immediately start the second phase without delay.

New hostage video

In the midst of tensions due to the prolongation or not of the first phase, Hamas This Saturday has published a new video with Israeli hostages. The recording shows Iair Horn, released last month as part of the exchanges for Palestinian prisoners in the middle of the high fire in Gaza, accompanied by his brother Eitan, still under captivity.

Both were kidnapped on October 7 during the attack of the Palestinian militias to the Israeli community of Nir Oz and appear in the video accompanied by three other hostages, all sitting on the ground. The recording seems to date 24 hours before the release of Iair Horn. «I am very happy that my brother will be released tomorrow, but I do not see logical that families are separated», Says Eitan.

After the publication of the video, Netanyahu has condemned him in a statementin which he has criticized that the kidnapped “are forced to participate in a psychological war.” «Israel will not be disgusted by Hamas’s propaganda. We will continue to work tirelessly to recover all our hostages and meet all the objectives of Israel’s war, ”he concluded.