Hamas accuses Blinken of 'greenlighting' Israeli actions in Gaza

The radical Palestinian movement Hamas thinks that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has "greenlighted" Israel to resume combat in the Gaza Strip, member of the movement’s Political Bureau Khalil al-Hayya said in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera.

 

"Every time before any new aggressive act we always see how the US Secretary of State 'greenlights' Israel to perpetuate its crimes, provides it with aid and every political protection," the Hamas official noted. Earlier on Friday, Israel’s Kan Radio reported that Blinken had completed his visit to Israel and left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) "mere minutes" after combat in the Gaza Strip resumed following a violation of a truce by Hamas.

"The issue of swapping hostages and prisoners is impossible to resolve with active combat underway, first it is necessary to stop aggression, then to trade POWs. We cannot conduct negotiations on releasing the adversary’s captured soldiers in the midst of its military operations, so we initially agreed to release civilians, as well as women and children.  Any talks of releasing troops in our captivity should be held only under the conditions of a complete ceasefire," he stressed.

"We notified intermediaries that we are ready for talks on releasing the civilians held by us in order to achieve a full-fledged truce," the Hamas official added.