Hamas says it won’t care for hostages more than Netanyahu does

A senior Hamas official, Taher al-Nunu, who survived Israel’s strike on the group’s offices in Doha, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “destroyed any chance for an agreement.”

“We will not care for the hostages more than Netanyahu does. Who can we negotiate with if the mediating delegation itself was attacked, if the mediating country was attacked? Netanyahu leaves no possibility for talks,” al-Nunu told Al Jazeera.

He also criticized U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Israel, saying his remarks that ties with the “Zionist entity” were stronger than ever gave Netanyahu “full cover” to continue what Hamas calls state terrorism.

Background: Hamas and Israel have been locked in a war since October 2023. Israel struck Doha last week, in what it called an operation targeting Hamas leadership. Qatar, which hosts Hamas’ political bureau, condemned the attack.