Author: Adam Rasgon
Published on: 24/02/2025 | 00:00:00

AI Summary:
Mousa Abu Marzouk, the head of Hamas’s foreign relations office, said he would not have supported the Oct. 7 attack if he had known of the havoc it would wreak on Gaza. He said that knowing of the consequences would have made it “impossible” for him to back the attack. Israel has said that it wants Hamas to dismantle its military capabilities. Mr. Abu Marzouk made the remarks in a phone interview on Friday. It’s unclear to what extent his views on Oct. 7 are shared by other leaders. Other leaders, especially those closely connected to Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have tended to take a harder line. Israel and Hamas are expected to start a discussion about the second phase of the cease-fire in Gaza. But delays in starting those talks coupled with disputes over the implementation of the first phase have reinforced fears that the truce could fall apart and the war could restart. Mr. Abu Marzouk has long been seen as one of the more pragmatic figures in Hama’s. Legal experts have accused Israel of using force in a way that resulted in the deaths of too many civilians. Mr. Abu Marzouk suggested there is some openness within the Hamas leadership to negotiate the future of the group’s weapons in Gaza. Hamas would demand far more prisoners in exchange for each hostage. During the first phase, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been released, but the number of prisoners released per hostage has generally not exceeded 50. Israeli officials have previously dismissed proposals to exchange all hostages for all prisoners. Israel pulled out from towns in southern Lebanon, said the U.N., but held onto strategic positions near the border as a deadline passed for both Israel and Hezbollah to withdraw. A wide-scale Israeli military operation across several cities has displaced roughly 40,000 Palestinians.

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