Gaza conflict: Hamas warns negotiators in Cairo it is ready to engage in a long war if demands not met

Updated

The armed wing of Hamas has called on Palestinian negotiators in Cairo not to extend a 72-hour truce unless their demands, in particular for the opening of Gaza's port, were met and warned it was ready to engage in a long war.

"We urge the Palestinian delegation negotiating not to renew the truce except after the acceptance in principle, particularly to the port (opening), and if there is no acceptance then we ask the delegation to withdraw from talks," a fighter, his face hidden behind a Palestinian scarf, said in a televised statement from Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The statement was aired on the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera news network.

Hamas, in control of Gaza since 2007, has ruled out giving up its weapons, and a senior official earlier threatened to quit the talks, demanding the blockade of Gaza be lifted and prisoners held by Israel freed.

Yesterday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke more optimistically, saying he saw a chance for "important parties in the Middle East to be able to fashion a new reality" he thought might yield a "sustainable peace or at least a sustainable quiet that can lead to other things".

Gaza officials say the war has killed 1,874 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed since fighting began on July 8 after a surge in Palestinian rocket salvoes into Israel.

In Gaza, where 500,000 people have been displaced by a month of bloodshed, some residents left United Nations shelters to trek back to neighbourhoods where whole blocks have been destroyed by Israeli shelling.

The 72-hour truce is due to end at 0500 GMT (3:00pm AEST).

Reuters

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, palestinian-territory-occupied, israel

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