The Hamas militant group on Thursday renewed a demand for Israeli troops to withdraw from south Gaza, accusing Israel of seeking to breach the terms of a ceasefire in talks on the next phase of the accord.

Israel launched a large-scale military operation centered on Jenin shortly after reaching a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in January. Troops have destroyed homes and infrastructure, and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes across the northern West Bank.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem has welcomed United States President Donald Trump’s apparent retreat from his proposed permanent displacement of more than two million Palestinians from Gaza. The statement by the Hamas official came after Trump said on Wednesday that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza” in response to a question during a meeting in the White House with Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

Egypt said on Thursday it appreciated U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on not demanding that residents of Gaza leave the enclave, according to a statement from the foreign ministry. "Nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza,