Two years after Oct. 7: Hamas prioritizes ending Israeli offensive
Shafaq News – Gaza
Hamas reaffirmed that its top priority is the “immediate cessation of aggression and genocide” against the Gaza Strip, stressing its commitment to the Palestinian people’s rights to liberation and independence.
In a statement marking the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, the group accused Israel of waging a campaign of systematic starvation, comprehensive destruction, and ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s population “on a scale unmatched in history.”
“Despite these horrors,” it asserted, “the occupation has failed to achieve its objectives of forced displacement, recovering its captives by force, or installing substitute proxy entities.”
The movement stated that its delegation in Egypt is actively pushing to resolve all hurdles standing in the way of an agreement that would guarantee a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, a full Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, unrestricted humanitarian access, the safe return of displaced residents, and the swift initiation of a broad reconstruction effort led by a national Palestinian technocratic body—alongside a just prisoner exchange.
It also warned against what it described as "criminal Netanyahu’s attempts to obstruct and derail the current round of negotiations, just as he deliberately sabotaged all previous rounds."
Hamas claimed the death toll from the war has exceeded 67,000 Palestinians, with more than 170,000 injured. The movement stated that over 15,000 people remain missing—most of them women and children—and that more than 500 died from starvation, confirming that 95 percent of the casualties were civilians. Hamas held “full American partnership” accountable, along with what it called the international community’s and UN system’s “alarming impotence.”
The group also accused Israel of seeking to annex and displace residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem through a “fascist agenda,” aimed at spatial and temporal division of Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that the occupation remains “an expansive, brutal force threatening regional and international security and stability.”
Regarding Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, Hamas claimed that 80 have died—50 of them from Gaza—alleging they perished from torture, medical neglect, and deprivation of food and medicine, conditions faced by all detainees.
On October 7, 2023, Israel launched a major offensive against Gaza in response to a Hamas operation, which followed intensified Israeli actions against Palestinians. According to Israeli reports, about 250 hostages were taken by Hamas.
