Senior member of the Hamas political leadership Khalid Mashal said on Wednesday, that his group would consider recognizing Israel when the time comes to establish a Palestinian state.
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Mashal who resides in Qatar made the unusual comments amid a report in the Saudi Arabian Elaph newspaper that claimed that the support for Hamas in the West was waning and that the pro-Palestinian marches that were seen at the start of the war were no longer taking place.
Speaking to the French Le Figaro newspaper, Mashal said that three months into the war, Hamas was still able to reach Tel Aviv with its rockets and that the Israeli offensive will have no bearing on the Hamas leadership or its military capabilities.
"It is not us who are worried," he said. "Israel from the start had two objectives one was to destroy Hamas and the other to free the hostages but now Israeli public opinion questions if those are realistic goals."
Elaph on Wednesday also quoted a senior Egyptian diplomat who said his country was adamant about reaching a deal that would exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners and include a cease-fire.
"Hamas must enter a new agreement and use the cease-fire to reorganize its internal affairs and pressure Israel to end the war," the unnamed diplomat told the paper.