![Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, take security measures as they hand over on Saturday two Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of the seventh exchange under the Jan. 19 ceasefire deal in Rafah, southern Gaza, on February 22, 2025. [Ali Jadallah - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AA-20250222-37131543-37131528-HAMAS_HANDS_OVER_2_ISRAELI_HOSTAGES_TO_RED_CROSS_IN_RAFAH.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said Israel is “delusional” thinking it can change the ceasefire by escalating its military aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip.
“[We were] committed to [the ceasefire] and every step taken by the resistance was in line with what we agreed upon while everything that Israel did was after consultations with the Americans,” he told al- Jazeera channel.
“So, if they think that such operations will change the [ceasefire] agreement, they are delusional,” he added.
Hamdan said the movement is in ongoing contact with Qatar and Egypt to end the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza; however he noted that Hamas did not receive any new proposal from Cairo to stop the Israeli war on Gaza.
He said that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu resumed the war on Gaza to escape his corruption cases, adding that Hamas is ready to engage with the proposal of US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, provided it serves as a bridge to Phase 2.
“Israel failed to exit the [ceasefire] agreement politically and has decided to exit militarily”.
Hamdan also emphasised that halting the aggression is a political matter, and this must be announced explicitly and without ambiguity.
He also stressed that Hamas is “open to any effort that restores unity among the Palestinian people to confront the Israeli enemy”.
“The displacement of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank took place under the noses of the Palestinian Authority, without it lifting a finger”.
At dawn on Tuesday, Israeli aircraft launched a large-scale attack on Gaza, killing 404 Palestinian civilians and wounding more than 562, some of whom are in critical condition.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since 7 October, 2023, leaving more than 160,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.
READ: Israel is in ‘worst position yet to confront Hamas,’ says military source