Hamas and Israel are accusing one another of delaying the ceasefire.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the state of Israel exchanged accusations. The reason was the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement, despite progress in recent days.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Reuters.

Hamas claimed that Israel imposed additional conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of deviating from already established agreements.

"The occupation has set new conditions related to troop withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of displaced persons, which has delayed the achievement of the agreement that was reached," said the Hamas group.

They also added that they are showing flexibility and that the negotiations, taking place with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, are serious in nature.

In response, Netanyahu stated the following in his announcement.

"The terrorist organization Hamas continues to lie, disregards already reached agreements, and continues to create difficulties in the negotiations," said the Israeli Prime Minister.

However, he added that Israel will continue its relentless efforts to secure the return of hostages.

What preceded this

On Tuesday, Netanyahu's office reported that Israeli negotiators returned to Israel from Qatar for consultations on a hostage release agreement after an important week of negotiations.

According to Reuters, American and Arab mediators from Qatar and Egypt have intensified efforts to reach a phased agreement in the past two weeks. One of the issues has been agreements on the deployment of Israeli troops.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking with commanders in southern Gaza, stated that Israel would maintain control over the security of the enclave, including through buffer zones and checkpoints.

In summary, the agency adds that Hamas demands an end to the war, while Israel states that it first wants to put an end to Hamas's rule in the enclave to ensure it no longer poses a threat to Israelis.

It is worth noting that recently the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eliminated the head of Hamas's Security Administration. The military reported that he was hiding in a command center located in a former school building.

Also recently, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz officially acknowledged that the operation to eliminate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which took place last summer in Tehran, was indeed carried out by Israel.