Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a press conference, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Beirut, Lebanon, June 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

i24 News — In an interview released on Friday, Hamas spokesperson and political bureau member Osama Hamdan said that he did not know about how many of the roughly 120 remaining hostages in Gaza are still alive.

“No one has any idea about that,” he told CNN, adding that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation to free four hostages on Saturday resulted in deaths of three others, including an American citizen.

Hamdan said that any deal to release the hostages must include guarantees of a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

He added that the latest proposal on the table backed by the United States did not meet Hamas’ requirements as the group seeks “a clear position from Israel to accept the ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and let the Palestinians to determine their future by themselves, the reconstruction, the [lifting] of the siege, and we are ready to talk about a fair deal about the prisoners exchange.”

“The Israelis want the ceasefire only for six weeks and then they want to go back to the fight, which I think the Americans, till now, they did not convince the Israelis to accept [a permanent ceasefire],” stated the Hamas spokesperson, arguing that the US needs to convince Israel to accept a permanent ceasefire as part of the deal.

When asked repeatedly by CNN whether Hamas regretted its decision to attack Israel on Oct. 7, Hamdan said that it was “a reaction against the occupation.”

“The one who is in charge or responsible for that is [the Israeli] occupation. If you resist the occupation, [they] will kill you. If you did not resist the occupation, [they] also will kill you and deport you out of your country. So what are we supposed to do, just to wait?” he answered.

Hamdan also dismissed as fake reports that Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief in Gaza, suggested the Palestinian civilian losses were “necessary sacrifices” in the terrorist group’s war with Israel.