"Israel' quit talks to prolong war, says Hamas official
Hamas senior official Khalil Al-Hayya accused the Israeli Occupation of deliberately withdrawing from ceasefire negotiations to prolong the war on Gaza and press forward with a plan to displace Palestinians forcibly.
In a televised speech on Sunday, Al-Hayya said the suffering of people in Gaza had reached indescribable levels and that their sacrifices would not be in vain.
He described Gaza’s civilian population as enduring burdens beyond what nations or mountains could bear.
Al-Hayya praised the armed resistance, particularly the Qassam Brigades, Quds Brigades, and other factions, claiming they had successfully disrupted the Israeli military’s “Gideon Chariots” operation.
He emphasized that for the past 22 months, the resistance leadership had used every available tool and relationship to halt the Israeli aggression on Gaza. During that time, Hamas participated in difficult negotiations and demonstrated what he described as maximum flexibility, without compromising core Palestinian principles.
According to Al-Hayya, Hamas had responded positively to all proposals put forth by mediators in the most recent round of talks and had reached broad agreement on many of the items. However, he said the group was taken by surprise when both the Israeli delegation and US envoy Steve Wietkoff abruptly withdrew from the talks, calling it a “blatant move” intended to sabotage negotiations and continue the war.
He rejected what he described as “the occupation’s negotiation games,” insisting that the Palestinian people should not be made victims of political manipulation.
Al-Hayya described the Israeli withdrawal as part of a broader strategy to waste time while enabling further genocide in Gaza. He said that even as the talks collapsed, the Israeli side criticized the agreed framework on aid distribution in an effort to sideline the role of the UN and local institutions.
He also warned of a wider "Israeli" plan to displace Palestinians en masse, pointing to efforts to retain control over aid mechanisms that have already resulted in deaths, and the occupation’s insistence on carving out a large section of Rafah to establish a buffer zone for the displaced. Al-Hayya said this move paves the way for forced expulsion, either through Egypt or the sea, as part of what he called a clear attempt to eliminate the Palestinian cause.
