Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, the head of Hamas’s political office in Lebanon, has told The Associated Press (AP) news agency that the group wants written guarantees from mediators that Israel will not resume fighting after the first group of Israeli captives held in Gaza is released, Al Jazeera reports.

Both sides have agreed on a general framework for a ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that any agreement “must allow Israel to return to fighting until all the objectives of the war are achieved”, which includes the destruction of Hamas.

Hamas insists that “negotiations should continue for a permanent ceasefire until a permanent ceasefire is reached”, as opposed to the wording in the current ceasefire proposal, under which the ceasefire should continue as long as negotiations continue.

“Netanyahu can stop the negotiations and thus resume the aggression” at any time, Abdul-Hadi told The AP. “We want something in writing to ensure that negotiations continue […] in order to reach a permanent ceasefire,” he said.