Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Monday that the threats from United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff "will only lead to complicate the matters further."
"Talking about new proposals is not in the interest of implementing the agreement, and these threats will lead to more complicated matters and will not provide a suitable ground for achieving peace in the region that everyone is seeking," Qassem told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed in an interview.
After Hamas previously agreed to release a US hostage soldier and return the bodies of four slain captives, Witkoff rejected the proposal, calling it "unacceptable" and a "non-starter." The US envoy also urged Hamas to be "much more sensible" and warned the group that the recent US attacks on Houthis in Yemen demonstrate the country's "tolerance level for terrorist actions."
