Hamas announced on Saturday its readiness to support any serious and genuine efforts aimed at ending the siege, alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people, and achieving a comprehensive prisoner exchange agreement.

In a statement marking the 37th anniversary of its founding, the movement reaffirmed its commitment to honoring the blood of martyrs and the sacrifices and resilience of its people, declaring that it will continue efforts until the aggression ends and the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom and self-determination are realized.

Hamas pointed out that, in this "war unlike any other in modern history," the Israeli occupation succeeded only in systematically destroying the basic elements of life and the resources of the people in Gaza. However, despite its power, weaponry, and fascist army, it "failed to achieve its aggression's objectives."

This, the statement continued, was due to the "legendary steadfastness" of the people in Gaza, as well as the heroic Resistance, which thwarted all of the enemy’s plans, disrupted its calculations, and confirmed that the Palestinian people and the Resistance are unbreakable, while the Israeli occupation is destined to end.

The movement praised the "legendary steadfastness" of the people in Gaza—men, women, elders, youth, and children—who faced the genocidal war, starvation, thirst, and horrific violations with patience, perseverance, and sacrifice.

Hamas also highlighted its significant efforts to stop the aggression and end the suffering of the Palestinian people, stressing that it has "engaged positively and responsibly with all initiatives."

The movement expressed its openness to any serious and genuine efforts to halt the aggression and the occupation’s crimes against civilians.

It reaffirmed its firm commitment to the rights, principles, and aspirations of its people, including the return of the displaced, the withdrawal of the occupation, relief, reconstruction, and the achievement of a serious prisoner exchange deal.

The statement added, "Our people have the absolute right, the ability, the competence, and the free will to decide their future and manage their internal affairs. No one has the right to impose guardianship over them or decide on their behalf."

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Hamas also reiterated its rejection of any international or Zionist projects aimed at determining Gaza’s future based on the Israeli occupation’s criteria, emphasizing its refusal to accept any plan that would legitimize the continuity of the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance movement accused US President Joe Biden’s administration "of complicity in this aggression," holding it "fully responsible, politically, legally, morally, and ethically, for supporting the occupation in this war of aggression by all means."

Hamas further urged the new US administration to "correct this course and work seriously to stop the aggression and the genocidal war and to cease its alignment with the occupation in continuing its crimes against our people and their legitimate rights."

The movement also praised the "efforts and positions" of the Arab, Islamic, and free peoples around the world who have stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their Resistance, urging the continuity and sustainability of all forms of support for the Palestinian cause until the aggression on Gaza ends.

Abu Obeida: IOF bombed captives repeatedly to ensure they were killed

Earlier, Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, accused the Israeli military of deliberately and repeatedly targeting a location where Israeli captives were being held.

In a post on Telegram, he said, "The occupation army recently targeted a location where some enemy captives were held, bombing it multiple times to ensure that they were killed," stressing that the Resistance group has "intelligence confirming that the enemy deliberately targeted the location with the intent to kill the captives and their guards."

According to the spokesperson, the al-Qassam Brigades freedom fighters launched a search and rescue operation to attempt to retrieve survivors, However, only one captive was successfully retrieved, but his "fate remains unknown."

A few moments after Abu Obeida's post, the al-Qassam Brigades released a video captioned "Netanyahu and Halevi are seeking to get rid of their captives in Gaza by all means."

The footage shows a captive, with blood on their body, struggling to move amid the rubble most probably caused by the bombing Abu Obeida mentioned in his post.

#WATCH | Al-Qassam Brigades publishes a video captioned "Netanyahu and Halevi are seeking to get rid of their captives in Gaza by all means." pic.twitter.com/Gp2cAyCoXU

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 14, 2024

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