The Palestinian group’s spokesperson Hazem Qassem has dismissed media reports about new initiatives to temporarily extend the Gaza truce, saying that they aim to pre-empt the ongoing talks in Doha.

“We are committed to what has already been agreed upon and moving to the second phase of the deal,” Qassem said.

His comments come amid Israeli reports that the US is looking to extend the first stage of the agreement as part of a temporary deal that would see the release of more Israeli captives in exchange for prolonging the truce.

But Qassem said Hamas wants to see a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, stressing that Israel has not lived up to the humanitarian provisions of the ceasefire.

“We don’t want to return to war again, but if the [Israeli] occupation renews its aggression, we would have no choice but to defend our people,” he added.