Hamas demands immediate ceasefire & Israel's complete withdrawal, Netanyahu rejects conditions

GAZA, Palestine (AFP/Reuters) - Palestinian militant group Hamas said Sunday its October 7 attacks in southern Israel were a 'necessary step' against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

But the Islamist group admitted in a 16-page report justifying the attack that 'some faults happened... due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza'. Hamas urged "the immediate halt of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire Gaza population". And the group said it rejected any international and Israeli efforts to decide Gaza's post-war future.

"We stress that the Palestinian people have the capacity to decide their future and to arrange their internal affairs," the report said, adding that "no party in the world" had the right to decide on their behalf. The document was the group's first public report released in English and Arabic explaining the background to the attack, when the militants broke through Gaza's militarised border.

"If there was any case of targeting civilians it happened accidently and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces," Hamas said in the report. "Many Israelis were killed by the Israeli army and police due to their confusion." Hamas rejected the accusations, saying they were intended to "demonise" it. The militant group said the attack was "a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people".

Hamas pointed to the historical origins of the conflict, saying "the battle of the Palestinian people against occupation and colonialism did not start on October 7, but started 105 years ago, including 30 years of British colonialism and 75 years of Zionist occupation". The group said it wanted to "hold the Israeli occupation legally accountable" for the suffering it had inflicted on the Palestinian people.

Netanyahu rejects Hamas conditions

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include Israel's complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza.

"In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists," Netanyahu said in a statement. "And leaving Hamas intact."

"I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas," Netanyahu said.