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Ceasefire requires full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, says Hamas

Ceasefire requires full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, says Hamas

File photo of Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday (Aug 15) stated that any ceasefire in the ongoing conflict must include a "complete" withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

"Any agreement must achieve a comprehensive ceasefire, a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from Gaza, (and) the return of the displaced," Hamas official Hossam Badran said in a statement after truce talks resumed in Doha on Thursday.

International mediators made a fresh attempt on Thursday to urge Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in their ongoing conflict, which according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministryhas now claimed more than 40,000 lives.

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The talks opened in Doha amid a wider international diplomatic bid to ease tensions that have spiked since the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

An Israeli delegation participated in the Doha talks, which also included U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns.

However, the Palestinian militants took no direct part. Hamas official Osama Hamdan stated that the group would participate in indirect negotiations if Israel made new commitments.

According to AFP, Hamdan said that "so far there's nothing new" from Israel.

Earlier Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces should keep control of Gaza's frontier with Egypt to stop arms movements into the territory.

It may be mentioned here, since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel set off the war, there hadbeen one week-long truce in November, when 105 hostages seized in the attack were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The current talks went ahead as the Gaza health ministry said the death toll in the besieged Palestinian territory had reached 40,005.

" Given the disturbing number of people who remain unaccounted for, who may be trapped or dead under the rubble, this number may, if anything, be an undercount," a spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said.

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"This is however another reason why we need to have a ceasefire urgently as well as the release of all hostages and unimpeded humanitarian assistance," he added.

The Israeli military said it had killed "more than 17,000" Palestinian militants in Gaza since October 7.

(With inputs from agencies)