Any solution to the rapidly expanding regional conflict that has spread to Lebanon and beyond hinges on a resolution of the original crisis in Gaza, a senior Hamas official said on Wednesday.
"It is so complicated and intermingled, the two fronts, that it is not easy to reach a permanent ceasefire or permanent solution to this conflict without solving the original one, which is in Gaza," Basem Naim told Reuters in Istanbul.
"Even if they reach a ceasefire for Lebanon, there will be no calm in the region (because) they are not talking about solving all these questions related to Lebanon or Palestine," he said. "We cannot simply start negotiating new conditions added by (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu," he said. Naim said the latest Israeli offensive in northern Gaza amounted to a "very tight, suffocating siege" unlike others.
"It is much more brutal and aggressive (than previous operations). It is directly targeting the civilian residential houses and homes," he said.