Hamas claims it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established in fresh rebuke to Israel
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and deal for the release of hostages ended last week in deadlock.
On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saying that as part of this Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
In its statement, Hamas - which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war - said it could not yield its right to 'armed resistance' unless an 'independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital' is established.
Israel considers the disarmament of Hamas a key condition for any deal to end the conflict, but Hamas has repeatedly said it is not willing to lay down its weaponry.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described any future independent Palestinian state as a platform to destroy Israel and said, for that reason, security control over Palestinian territories must remain with Israel.
He also criticised several countries, including the UK and Canada, for announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state in response to devastation of Gaza from Israel's offensive and blockade, calling the move a reward for Hamas' conduct.
The war started when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has turned much of the enclave into a wasteland, killed over 60,000 Palestinians and set off a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel and Hamas traded blame after the most recent round of talks ended in an impasse, with gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.
It comes as Hamas today released a horrifying video of an emaciated Israeli hostage after 666 days in captivity - as his devastated family said he only has a few days left to live.
Evyatar David's family approved the use of the terrorist organisation's video on Saturday, which shows him bare chested on a dirty mattress inside a tunnel in Gaza.
He can be seen writing on a piece of paper on the wall and walking around in the tunnel which is just tall enough for him stand up.
The video goes on to accuse Israel of starving not only Palestinians but Israeli hostages as well.
The last proof of life from Evyatar, who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attacks, was back in February.
Then Hamas published a video of him and fellow hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal sitting inside a car as they watched other captives being released from Gaza.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has turned much of the enclave into a wasteland, killed over 60,000 Palestinians and set off a humanitarian catastrophe
A Palestinian boy drinks what remains in a jar of sesame paste near a distribution point run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) group, as a boy carries a bag full of folded cardboard boxes, on Salah al-Din road near the Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on August 2, 2025
In a statement today, the David family said: 'We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas's tunnels in Gaza - a living skeleton, buried alive.
'Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition. Hamas is using our son as a live experiment in a vile hunger campaign.
'The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen. He is being starved purely to serve Hamas's propaganda.
'Israel and the international community must oppose Hamas's cruelty and ensure that our Evyatar immediately receives proper nutrition.'
The Instagram account 'Bring Evyatar Home' also posted on social media 'The Holocaust must end' as they shared the latest images of him.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Islamic Jihad released a hostage video, showing a starved Rom Braslavski crying and begging for his life.
Families of Israeli hostages criticised the shocking images of the hostages in Gaza.
Speaking at a demonstration against the Israeli government on Saturday, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest said her son was too going through a Holocaust.
'I am the image of failure for the prime minister. I avoided using the word Holocaust until now, because I am a daughter of a Holocaust survivor,' Anat Angrest said.
'My father is going through a second Holocaust through his grandson. We see videos of the Holocaust in colour.
'The 2025 Holocaust is continuing and extending thanks to the Israeli government,' she added.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker, said: 'In recent days, we saw the difficult videos of Rom and Evyatar from captivity.
'Our children are undergoing a Holocaust. Jews are becoming skin and bones because of political survival.
'If we don't free everyone now, they will not survive for much longer,' Zangauker said.
She has repeatedly accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of prolonging the war for his own political survival.
The Hostage Forum in Israel also released a scathing statement following the images of Evyatar, appealing directly to both the Israeli and American governments.
'Look our loved ones – and us – in the eyes. The danger to their lives is tangible and immediate,' it read.
'The risk of losing those deceased is growing. This is the time for a comprehensive deal and an end to the war.
'No more delays. No more leaving them behind. Stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels and home,' the forum said.
Vicky Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, posted the word: 'Holocaust 2025' on X after seeing the video of David.
Former hostage, Eliya Cohen, said that seeing the video of Evyatar took him back to the day a terrorist came to him and said: 'There's no more food, no more water, no more anything.
'You'll eat whatever is left of our food, because your people are starving us — so we'll starve you.'
'Don't get me wrong,' Cohen continued: 'I don't have an ounce of compassion for those sons of b******.
'But while we're being shredded in the global media, the people we're trying to target are sitting underground, and 90 percent of the time they're in the kitchen, trading maqluba recipes, dipping hummus.'
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid meanwhile asked ministers in Netanyahu's government to 'watch the video of Evyatar before going to bed and try to fall asleep while thinking about Evyatar trying to survive in a tunnel.'
Israel's Foreign Ministry said that Evyatar is known for his 'kind soul and musical talent. He dreams of traveling to Asia and studying music production.'
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with families of hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday, where he stressed that the current plan is to end the war and not expand it.
'A majority of Israelis want the hostages at home, and a majority of Gaza's public wants the return of hostages because they want the rehabilitation of the Strip, Witkoff said.
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