As a shaky, tentative peace continues to unfold in the Middle East, Hamas appears not to be fulfilling its end of the arrangement. A member of the terrorist group spoke to Reuters on Friday to address, among other things, why the group carried out public executions in Gaza last week.

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From the Daily Wire:

Reuters sat down with senior Hamas member Mohammed Nazzal in Doha, Qatar, where senior Hamas leaders have long enjoyed safe haven. Nazzal said that the executions that took place on Monday were part of “exceptional measures” taken during war. At least seven men were shot in the back of the head in front of a crowd in Gaza after Hamas accused them of conspiring with Israel. Nazzal said the executed men were “criminals guilty of killing.”

Nazzal added that Hamas would like to see a ceasefire last between three and five years, so that Gaza can be rebuilt, Reuters reported. He added that after the rebuilding, Palestinians should be given “horizons and hope” for statehood.

Asked about Nazzal’s comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told Reuters, “Hamas is supposed to release all hostages in stage 1. It has not. Hamas knows where the bodies of our hostages are. Hamas are to be disarmed under this agreement. No ifs, no buts. They have not. Hamas need to adhere to the 20-point plan. They are running out of time.”

These comments came mere hours after President Trump threatened the terrorist group. In a statement on Friday, he clarified that, if Hamas does not stop killing people, “we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.” He later clarified that he was not planning to send U.S. troops to take care of Hamas, but that “somebody will go in” to stamp out the terrorist group.

Phase one of President Trump’s Israel-Hamas peace plan, which the Daily Wire notes both parties agreed to last week, required Hamas to hand over all remaining living and deceased hostages. Thus far Hamas has freed the remaining living hostages, but it has failed to locate and hand over the bodies of the deceased.

The next phase of the peace plan would require Hamas to lay down its weapons and relinquish control of Gaza. As the Daily Wire puts it, it appears that Hamas currently has “no desire to see the next phase of the peace plan come to fruition.”

The situation may seem dire, but we worship and serve the God of the impossible. Let’s pray for a lasting peace in the Middle East that protects Israel and honors the Lord!

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(Excerpt from the Daily Wire. Photo Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)