Hamas says it will not attend the latest talks to reach a cease-fire agreement

In a new turn of events, the Hamas terrorist group announced Sunday that it is rejecting the latest invitation from the United States, Qatar and Egypt for a final round of negotiations on a cease-fire agreement and release of hostages in Gaza scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15.

In a statement signed Sunday, Hamas appeared to call on the mediators, especially Qatar and Egypt, to return to work on an agreement based on previous proposals.

"The movement calls on the mediators to present a plan to implement what was agreed upon by the movement on July 2, 2024, based on Biden’s vision and the UN Security Council resolution," Hamas said. "The mediators should enforce this on the occupation (Israel) instead of pursuing further rounds of negotiations or new proposals that would provide cover for the occupation’s aggression and grant it more time to continue its genocide against our people."

According to Axios, the Hamas statement represents a significant setback for diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement next Thursday, as tensions in the region escalate in the face of an "imminent" Iranian attack on Israel.

A senior Israeli official told Axios that the Hamas statement represents a strategic move "ahead of a possible attack by Iran and Hezbollah and in an attempt to get better terms for the deal."

"If Hamas won't come to the table, we will continue decimating their forces in Gaza," this official said.

However, despite the Hamas statement, Israeli and U.S. officials are still relatively optimistic to reach an agreement next Thursday.

According to Times of Israel, parallel to cautious Israeli optimism, the United States continues to "attempting to deter Iran from striking Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, for which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility."

Also, in an effort to avoid an escalation of the conflict and a regional war, U.S. officials continue to press their Israeli counterparts to conclude the agreement as soon as possible.

For the time being, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked Israel's position on Friday by announcing that his government will send its negotiators to the August 15 talks "to finalize the details of the implementation of the agreement framework."

Israel's statement came after the United States, Qatar and Egypt issued a joint statement on Friday saying that an agreement needed to be concluded and implemented as soon as possible.