News - Middle East: Hamas says Israel has failed to achieve its objectives in its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, stressing that Palestinians are closer to “liberation” after “shattering” the occupying regime’s “arrogance” by resisting 15 months of brutal aggression against the besieged territory. 

Hamas made the remarks in a statement on Saturday, after the Israeli regime’s full cabinet approved the ceasefire deal in Gaza earlier in the day.

The resistance group said it had “forced” the occupying regime to stop the aggression against Palestinians and withdraw, despite Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts “to prolong the war and commit more massacres.”

“The occupation failed to achieve its aggressive goals, and only succeeded in committing war crimes that shame humanity,” Hamas said, adding that Palestinians are now “closer to the end of the occupation, liberation, and return.”

The resistance group further noted that “the sacrifices of our people in the genocidal war will not go in vain, won’t be forgotten.”

In a separate statement, Hamas explained that the mechanism for the group’s release of Israeli captives “will depend on the number of Palestinian detainees Israel agrees to release”.

It further stated that the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed at each stage would be released one day before each exchange day.

In the early hours of Saturday, the Israeli regime’s cabinet voted to approve a ceasefire deal between Tel Aviv and Palestinian resistance movements in Gaza, after more than 460 days of genocidal war in which Israeli forces have killed more than 46,788 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Netanyahu’s office announced that the deal to halt the fighting with Hamas would come into effect on Sunday.

The phased-out deal would begin with a six-week truce and could eventually end the brutal military onslaught.

Hamas has already approved the deal, hailing the Palestinian fighters and civilians for their overcoming the regime’s aggression and preventing it from achieving any of its wartime goals.

More than 240 Zionists were taken captive by the resistance groups in October 2023, following which the regime launched the war.

A large number of them have been killed as a result of the Israeli military’s indiscriminate assaults on Gaza amid Tel Aviv’s insistence on keeping up the war until Hamas’ “elimination.”

The first phase of the deal’s execution is reportedly expected to feature the release of 33 of the captives in exchange for 1,977 Palestinians.

The exchange will reportedly be implemented in seven phases over the first 42 days.

The regime was forced to approve the deal following pressure from the families of the captives and despite threats from some cabinet members that they would resign and cause it to collapse if the agreement was approved.

Press TV