Hamas refutes Israeli claims about ‘discussion of prisoner exchange’

Hamas refutes the Israeli regime’s claims of taking place of “discussion of prisoner exchange” between the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement and Tel Aviv.

“There is no discussion of prisoner exchange before stopping the aggression as Israel propagates,” Osama Hamdan, senior Hamas’ representative in Lebanon, said on Friday.

“The occupation is attempting to leak ideas that suit its narrative and are not true to alleviate internal pressure,” he added.

Gaza’s resistance movements took hundreds captive during an operation they staged against the occupied territories, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, on October 7.

The regime began taking the coastal sliver under an unrelenting genocidal war following the operation.

At least 21,320 people, mostly women and children, have been killed during the Israeli military campaign so far.

During a Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated temporary ceasefire that took effect earlier during the war, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 105 people, who were released by Hamas.

Hamdan’s remarks did not mark the first time, when Hamas insists on complete cessation of the Israeli onslaught before another exchange could take place.