Posted on 03/09/24
| News Source: JPost
Hamas is more interested in igniting the Middle East during Ramadan than in pausing the Gaza war, the Mossad warned on Saturday night as it seemed that a hostage deal was not in the offing before the start of the Muslim holy month that begins on Sunday night.
“At this stage, Hamas is holding to its position as if it was uninterested in a deal and is striving to ignite the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip,” the Mossad said.
It spoke after Mossad Director David Barnea met Friday with CIA Director William Burns in the framework of the relentless effort to advance a deal for the release of the remaining 134 hostages.
The mediators, Egypt and Qatar, with the help of the United States, had hoped to see a deal in place that would see the release of some 40 hostages in exchange for a six-week pause in the war in time for Ramadan.
Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the US have all feared that without a deal, Hamas would seek to use the religious fervor of Ramadan to ignite violence, particularly in Jerusalem, that would set back efforts for a deal.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Hamas was preventing a deal and that its leaders were only interested in “their survival and the conditions they will receive” and in continuing the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.