Gaza City: Hamas on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump's accusation that the Palestinian militant group was blocking efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Hamas has never been an obstacle to reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip... The US administration, the mediators and the entire world know that the war criminal (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is the sole party obstructing all attempts to reach an agreement," Hamas said in a statement.

Trump, in his speech to the UN General Assembly earlier on Tuesday, said that Hamas was refusing to release the hostages held in Gaza or accept a ceasefire. 

"We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it," Trump said. He pressed for urgent negotiations, adding, "We have to get it done. We have to negotiate peace."

Stressing the importance of recovering captives from Hamas, he continued, "We have to get the hostages back. We want all 20 back. We have to get them back now. We want actually the 38 dead bodies back too."

He also reiterated that the recent recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western nations amounted to a "reward" for Hamas.

The Palestinian territory has been devastated by the Israeli offensive launched in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel led by Islamist group Hamas.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 47 are still in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

(with inputs from AFP and ANI)