Hamas sees possible cease-fire with Israel within days
Israel rejected a prior truce offer, though the White House blamed Hamas.
The deputy chief of Hamas, the Palestinian militant movement that controls the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday he expects a cease-fire with Israel to be reached “within one or two days.”
“This cease-fire — it’s not a truce — applies to the Gaza Strip. It does not apply to areas of the West Bank or areas” of Palestine, Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk told Lebanon’s Mayadeen TV.
The apparent progress comes after a week and a half of fighting that has left at least 220 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead. Israeli officials have so far rejected Hamas’ offers for mutual cease-fires.
The UN secretary-general was reported to have discussed the cease-fire negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a General Assembly meeting on the subject scheduled for tomorrow.
