Hamas said over the weekend that it will not relinquish its weapons unless an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established, dismissing assertions by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff that the group had shown willingness to disarm. In a statement, the movement called armed resistance a “national entitlement” as long as Israeli occupation continues. Witkoff is visiting Israel as Washington tries to revive indirect negotiations on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release. During a meeting in Tel Aviv on 2 August, he told relatives of captives that he was crafting a joint plan with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would “effectively end the war.” Hamas’s hard-line response underscores the gulf that still separates the parties after talks on a 60-day truce broke down last week. The standoff intensified after Hamas released a second propaganda video in two days, showing 24-year-old Israeli hostage Evyatar David—skeletally thin—digging what he says is his own grave inside a tunnel. Netanyahu, calling the footage “harsh and shocking,” asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to supply food and medical care to the roughly 50 hostages still held in Gaza. Hamas’s armed wing said it is ready to cooperate with the Red Cross but demanded permanent humanitarian corridors for Gaza and a halt to Israeli air operations during aid deliveries. The European Union’s foreign-policy chief and French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the images as evidence of Hamas’s “abject cruelty” and reiterated calls for an immediate cease-fire and the unconditional release of all captives. The war began when Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251 on 7 October 2023. Israeli officials say only around 20 of the remaining hostages are believed alive. Gaza’s health ministry puts Palestinian fatalities from Israel’s subsequent offensive at more than 60,000, while U.N. agencies warn that the enclave faces a man-made famine unless aid access is widened.