Hamas accuses Israel of obstructing Gaza ceasefire efforts

Gaza, Aug 18 (IANS) A senior Hamas official has accused Israel of obstructing all efforts to finalise a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“The Israeli occupation continues to obstruct all efforts to complete any ceasefire agreement,” Sami Abu Zuhri said in a press statement on Saturday.Abu Zuhri also accused the US administration of “fully adopting Israel’s position” and claimed that Israel is retreating from previous clauses. He noted that Washington is trying to “deter any moves” in the region against Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.”We are not facing a real agreement or negotiations, but rather the imposition of American dictates,” he said, saying that talking about reaching a ceasefire agreement is “an illusion.”On Friday, Qatar, the US, and Egypt said in a joint statement that the Gaza ceasefire talks held in Doha this week had made “constructive” progress.The statement added that relevant parties would continue their efforts in the coming days to negotiate the details of the deal’s implementation.The three countries have been mediating an agreement between Hamas and Israel over the Gaza conflict. Multiple rounds of ceasefire discussions in recent months have yielded no results.–IANSint/sha