GAZA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Hamas said Thursday that the Israeli government is indifferent to the ongoing mediation efforts on the Gaza ceasefire, because it wants "an endless war."
Israel is responding to the mediation efforts with "military pressure" on civilians through mass bombing and imposing more suffering on the Palestinian people in a "desperate attempt to impose its terms under fire," Hamas said in a press statement.
The Israeli government's insistence on negotiations without halting the "aggression" on the enclave reveals the essence of its "criminal" mentality, which views the negotiations as a mere tool to buy time and resume the war, Hamas said.
The Israeli government is posing not only a "danger" to the Palestinian people but also a "real threat to the region and the entire world," it said.
The remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that an Israeli delegation would travel to Qatar's Doha on Tuesday for talks on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, although the talks would take place "only under fire."
Also on Tuesday, Netanyahu warned that the Israeli military would enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days to press forward with efforts to defeat Hamas.
Israel resumed large-scale military operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. Since then, 2,876 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,800 injured, according to Gaza's health authorities.
The total Palestinian death toll since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, has reached 53,010, the authorities said Thursday.
