Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel still not close, says senior Hamas official

Palestinian group affirms ‘space for flexibility’ but wants guarantee of total ceasefire and Israeli troops’ withdrawal.

A senior official from the Palestinian group Hamas has dampened hopes of an immediate ceasefire deal with Israel, saying there was still a long way to go before an agreement could be secured.

“The gap is still wide. We have to discuss a lot of points with the mediators,” Basem Naim, the head of political and international relations for Hamas, told Al Jazeera from Istanbul on Wednesday.

This comes after United States President Joe Biden said he hopes to have a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza by next Monday, with negotiations appearing to have gathered pace.

However, Naim said the Biden administration’s optimistic posture was not “related to the reality on the ground” and has more to do with domestic political considerations in a US election year.

“If the Americans want to be really optimistic, they have to end their game of double standards,” he said.