Washington between Hamas threats and talks with it.. Al-Qassam: What is not taken by war will not be taken by threats and tricks

US President Donald Trump confirmed that his country held discussions with Hamas, a day after issuing what he called the "final warning" to release the occupation prisoners, and at a time when Israeli threats to return to war in Gaza are increasing, Al-Qassam confirmed that "what is not taken into account by war will not be taken into account by threats."

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a senior US official had recently held direct talks with Hamas to release detainees in Gaza. He added that "this effort is aimed at helping Israel and the United States will not pay for their release."

For his part, US envoy to the Middle East Stephen Witkoff indicated Washington's desire for dialogue, and confirmed in statements to reporters in front of the White House his country's desire "to resolve matters through dialogue, and if we do not succeed, the alternative will not be good for Hamas."

He said that the goal of the administration of President Donald Trump is to release all the "hostages" from Gaza, and that he feels responsible and without him we would not have seen the release of "hostages" from Gaza, noting that the lives of all the "hostages" in Gaza are important to the president who has repeatedly stressed that the situation regarding the hostages is no longer acceptable.

Witkoff said that any discussions with Hamas are being conducted by the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, who is authorized to do so, considering that "Hamas has an opportunity to make the right decision and it will not be part of the governance of Gaza."

Witkoff praised Egypt for presenting a new plan for Gaza without endorsing the details of this alternative proposal to the Trump project, stressing, "We need more discussion about it, but it is a first step of good faith on the part of the Egyptians."

Hamas and the American position

Washington continues to threaten Hamas if it does not release the Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while Israel refuses to enter into negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which guarantees the release of the occupation prisoners.

In response to the US position, Hamas said that Trump's repeated threats to the Palestinians constitute support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to evade the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and tighten the siege on the Palestinians in the Strip.

Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou said, "Trump's repeated threats against our people constitute support for Netanyahu to evade the agreement and tighten the siege and starvation against our people," according to Reuters.

He added, "The best path to free the remaining Israeli prisoners is for the occupation to enter the second phase of negotiations and be obligated to abide by the agreement signed under the auspices of the mediators."

In the same context, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted American officials as saying that Israel fears an agreement on Gaza without it being the one to convey the information to Washington, noting that American officials “did not inform Israel of the direct meeting with Hamas for fear that it would disrupt the talks.”

The newspaper reported that the establishment of a path between Washington and Hamas came as a result of the halt of the second phase negotiations, and that the Israeli government opposed the existence of a separate channel directly between Washington and Hamas, and spoke about sources in the US administration accusing Israel of trying to obstruct the talks between Washington and Hamas.

Yedioth Ahronoth said that Trump's representatives traveled to Doha and did not inform Israel about the talks with Hamas, and that Washington's decision to negotiate with Hamas came after information about Israel's preparation for an operation in Gaza.

The newspaper added that the Israeli government contacted the White House and expressed its anger over the meeting and its content, and that concealing the talks from Israel came after it failed a tour that was scheduled last week. It also indicated that the Washington delegation - which visited Doha last week - planned to meet with a senior Hamas official.

Israel's threats of war

Israel continued its threats to return to fighting in Gaza, and Haaretz newspaper said that the new Chief of Staff of the Army, Eyal Zamir, is conducting an assessment of the situation at the General Staff Forum, and is expected to present a plan to return to large-scale fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The Hebrew newspaper quoted reserve forces leaders as saying that any new entry into the Strip would require the use of a large number of armored vehicles, given Hamas's readiness to resume fighting since the ceasefire.

Security officials added that after more than a year and a half of fighting, we do not know whether the plan is appropriate for the current situation, and that reserve teams are already facing difficulty in completing their ranks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had agreed to the broad outlines of a truce proposed by Witkoff during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover (April 12-20).

The office said that the proposal stipulates the release of half of the Israeli detainees in Gaza, alive and dead, during the first day of the proposed truce, and if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, the other half of the detainees in Gaza will be released.

In contrast, Hamas stresses the need to begin the second phase of negotiations, which includes ending the war and the comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation army from Gaza, in preparation for the third phase, the basis of which is the reconstruction of the destroyed sector.

To move to the second phase of the agreement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stipulated on Tuesday "complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the exit of Hamas and its allies in Islamic Jihad, and the return of our hostages."

Al-Qassam: What is not taken by war will not be taken by threats

Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, said that the resistance had committed itself to the world and the mediators to the terms of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza, accusing Israel of evading the agreement in an attempt to obtain American cover to return to aggression.

In response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's threat to return to fighting, Abu Obeida said, "We are in a state of readiness for all possibilities. The resistance has what will hurt the enemy in any future confrontation, and his threats are a sign of weakness and a feeling of humiliation. This will only push us to return to break what remains of his prestige."

He added in a videotaped speech, "The shortest way is to oblige the enemy to what it signed, and what it did not take through war, it will not take through threats and tricks," warning that "any escalation of aggression against our people will lead to the killing of a number of enemy prisoners." He stated that the occupation is the one causing the killing of its prisoners in addition to their suffering by reneging on the understandings.

The Qassam spokesman warned the families of the occupation prisoners, "We have proof of life to this day for the remaining living prisoners, and the enemy's threats of war will only bring disappointment to it and will not lead to the release of its prisoners."

He stressed that the world witnessed the good health of the prisoners despite the difficulty of preserving their lives in light of what he called the barbaric war, and that "the world witnessed how the resistance was keen to treat the prisoners well, in adherence to the ethics of our religion."

In response to what he mentioned regarding the resistance’s treatment of Israeli prisoners, Abu Obeida said, “The world has seen how the enemy has abused and continues to abuse our people’s prisoners, who tell horrific testimonies of criminal treatment,” calling on “all fair-minded people and human rights advocates to expose the crime being committed against Palestinian prisoners.”

In his new video speech, Abu Obeida said, “The blind eyes of the Western regimes do not see a difference, but rather cry over dozens of enemy prisoners and do not care about the safety of our prisoners,” accusing “the enemy’s leadership of trying to evade the agreement in an effort to put partisan interests above the lives of its prisoners.”

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Agencies + Al Jazeera