A senior official in Hamas stated that the Palestinian group has lost faith in the ability of the United States to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza ahead of a new round of talks scheduled for this week amid increasing pressure to end the ongoing war with Israel that has lasted for 10 months.

Osama Hamdan told the Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday that Hamas would only participate if the talks focused on implementing a detailed proposal put forth by U.S. President Joe Biden in May, which received international support.

The United States has referred to this as an Israeli proposal, and Hamas has agreed to it in principle, but Israel has said that Biden's speech did not fully align with the proposal itself. The two sides later suggested changes, with each accusing the other of obstructing the deal.

Hamas is particularly resisting Israel's demand to maintain a permanent military presence in two strategic areas of Gaza after any ceasefire, conditions that have only been made public in recent weeks.

Hamdan, a member of Hamas's political bureau, which includes top political leaders of the group and sets its policies, stated: "We have informed the mediators that any meeting must be based on discussing implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new." "Otherwise, Hamas will find no reason to participate."

It was not clear late Wednesday whether Hamas would attend the talks beginning Thursday.

Hamdan spoke amid a renewed campaign to end the war that erupted following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1200 people and the capture of around 250 hostages in Gaza. Israel responded with devastating airstrikes and a ground invasion that has claimed the lives of approximately 40,000 Palestinians and destroyed vast areas of land.

There are now fears that the conflict could ignite a broader war.

In a one-hour interview, Hamdan accused Israel of not engaging in good faith, saying that the group does not believe the United States is capable or willing to exert pressure on Israel to reach an agreement.

Hamdan stated that Israel "either sent a non-voting delegation (to the negotiations) or changed the delegations from round to round, forcing us to start over, or imposed new conditions."

Israeli officials did not immediately comment on this accusation, but Israel has denied sabotaging the talks and accused Hamas of doing so.

During the interview, Hamdan presented copies of several iterations of the ceasefire proposal and the group's written responses. A regional official familiar with the talks confirmed the authenticity of the documents. The official provided the assessment on the condition of anonymity to share unpublished information.

The documents show that Hamas attempted at several points to add additional guarantors—including Russia, Turkey, and the United Nations—but Israel's responses always included only the current mediators: the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that some of the changes requested were merely "clarifications" that added details, such as provisions addressing how Palestinians would return to northern Gaza, the number of hostages to be released during specific stages, and whether Israel could object to any of the Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli hostages. Hamas was accused of requesting 29 changes to the proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated earlier this month: "The truth is that Hamas is the one preventing the release of our hostages, and it is the one that continues to oppose the outlines."

However, Hamdan affirmed that Hamas has accepted the proposal presented by mediators either wholly or partially on more than one occasion, but Israel rejected it outright or ignored it or launched major military operations in the days following.

On one occasion, a day after Hamas accepted the ceasefire proposal, Israel launched a new operation in Rafah in southern Gaza. Israel stated that the proposal remained far from its demands.

Hamdan said that the Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, informed Hamas via intermediaries at that time that Israel would agree to the deal.

But he added, "The Americans were unable to convince the Israelis. I think they did not pressure the Israelis."

When asked about Hamas's concerns regarding the U.S. role, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said, "Well, the United States does not believe that Hamas is an honest broker."

Regarding whether Hamas would attend the talks, Patel said that representatives from Qatar had assured them they would attend.

Patel stated, "We fully expect these talks to proceed as they should. Our view is that all negotiators should return to the table."

The negotiations have gained new urgency as the war threatens to ignite a regional conflict.

Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group are considering launching retaliatory strikes against Israel following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah's top commander Fouad Shaker in Beirut. Israel has claimed responsibility for the latter strike but has not confirmed or denied its role in the explosion that killed Haniyeh.

After a brief ceasefire in November that saw the release of over 100 Israeli hostages, multiple rounds of ceasefire talks collapsed. About 110 people remain held captive in Gaza, with about a third estimated to have died.

Hamdan accused Israel of ramping up its attacks on Hamas leaders after the group provisionally agreed to the last proposal presented by mediators.

Israel stated that the operation on July 13 in Gaza killed Mohammed Deif, the elusive leader of Hamas's military wing. Local health officials reported that more than 90 others also died.

Hamdan insisted that Deif is alive.

A week later, Haniyeh was killed, and both Hamas and Iran blamed Israel. Hamas then appointed Yehya Sinwar, its leader in Gaza who is viewed as responsible for the October 7 attack, to replace Haniyeh—who was seen as a more moderate figure.

Hamdan acknowledged that there were "some difficulties" and delays in communicating with Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding deep within the network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip. However, Hamdan insisted that this does not pose a significant obstacle to the negotiations.

The most contentious sticking point in the talks remains whether a temporary ceasefire will become permanent and how.

Israel has been cautious about proposals to extend the initial truce as long as negotiations continue for a permanent agreement. Israel seems concerned that Hamas will indefinitely continue unproductive negotiations.

Hamas has expressed concern that Israel will resume war once the most vulnerable hostages are returned, a scenario reflected in some of Netanyahu's recent comments.

All versions of the ceasefire proposal shared by Hamdan stipulate the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in the second phase of the deal.

However, officials familiar with the negotiations recently told the Associated Press that Israel has made new demands to maintain its presence in a strip of land along the border between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphia corridor, as well as along a highway that runs through the width of the territory, separating southern Gaza from northern Gaza. Hamas insisted on the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Hamdan stated that the group has yet to receive the new terms in writing.

Hamdan acknowledged that Palestinians have suffered greatly in the war and are yearning for a ceasefire, but he insisted that the group cannot simply abandon its demands.

He said, "A ceasefire is one thing, and surrender is another."