GAZA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A senior Hamas official said Friday that they had been informed by the mediators that the Israeli delegation would return next week to continue negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire.
According to Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, the mediators told the Hamas negotiating team that the Israeli delegation had returned to Israel for further consultations, with plans to resume talks early next week.
Naim said in a press statement that the mediators conveyed a "positive" assessment of Hamas's recent response to the newly proposed ceasefire framework.
"The mediators viewed our response as constructive and closely aligned with the terms they had previously discussed with both Hamas and the Israeli side," Naim said.
Naim said Hamas, in coordination with other Palestinian factions, had shown "high levels of flexibility and responsibility" in the negotiations in an effort to halt the ongoing "massacre" and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"The ball is now in Israel's court," he added, urging Israel to put an end to what he called "a destructive political game" aimed at serving the interests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Thursday, Israel brought back its negotiating teams from Doha for further consultations after receiving Hamas's formal response to the ceasefire proposal. Hamas earlier said it had submitted its reply, along with that of other Palestinian factions, to the mediators, without providing details about the content of the response.
Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday that Israel is considering new ways to release the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. ■
