Hamas is reportedly refusing to accept Israel’s terms for a hostage deal and digging in on its demands after the Biden administration refused to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The resolution did not require that Israeli hostages be released as a condition of a ceasefire — a requirement that the U.S. had made in previous proposals. Instead, the resolution simply mentioned the release of the remaining hostages.
Hamas saw that as a victory — as did nations like South Africa, which is currently pursuing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, claiming that Israel is committing “genocide” in its war against Hamas.
Hamas praised the Security Council, and said that it was prepared to discuss the exchange of Israeli hostages (which it described as “prisoners”) for Palestinian…
