Hamas rejects US ceasefire deal with Israel
Hamas appears to have rejected a US-led ceasefire deal with Israel, insisting that there can only be peace if Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops leave the Gaza strip.
The terrorist group received a proposal from Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, which would have seen a 60-day ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
The Witkoff proposal left details of an IDF withdrawal from combat areas ambiguous, with exact future boundaries to be discussed at a later stage.
While Hamas offered to release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel's release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, the group said it wanted a definitive answer on Israeli troops.
Countering with their own offer, Hamas said: 'This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.'
It said its response came 'after conducting a round of national consultations'.
'There [are] some notes and amendments to some points, especially on the US guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces,' a Hamas official said.
The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but an official said off the record that they considered Hamas's response as an 'effective rejection' of the Witkoff deal.
Israeli media reported earlier this week that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by Mr Witkoff. The prime minister's office declined to comment at the time.
Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.
Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.
Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the fighting.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on Oct 7 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Hamas-run Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.
The World Food Programme said on Saturday that 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry Gazans who took the food before the trucks could reach their destination.
The nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of over 2 million to the brink of famine. While pressure slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, aid organisations say far from enough food is getting in.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
27 minutes ago
- Metro
Six people injured in petrol bomb and flamethrower attack at pro-Israel rally
Six people were injured in a 'targeted terror attack' when a man used a makeshift flamethrower to set fire to people at a pro-Israel event in Colorado. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled 'Free Palestine' at an outdoor mall in Boulder, where a group had gathered to raise attention to Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The suspect was taken into custody and the FBI has said although no charges were immediately announced, but officials said they expect to hold him 'fully accountable'. The attack occurred at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder, where a group had gathered for an event to draw attention to Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. Injuries ranged from serious to minor. The suspect was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries. Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, 'He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails,' as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand. It occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled: 'I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza' as he was being led away by police. FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department, which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations, decried the attack as a 'needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans'. 'This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,' FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said in a post on X. Israel's war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it 'would be irresponsible for me to speculate' while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims – ranging from serious to minor – were consistent with them having been set on fire. More Trending The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was 'closely monitoring' the situation, adding that 'hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable'. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Urgent recall of 256,000 pounds of canned beef stew over fears they contain wood pieces MORE: Trump reveals if he's willing to pardon ex-pal Diddy if convicted of sex trafficking MORE: Biden jokes he 'can beat the hell out of' authors on his decline after cancer diagnosis
Sky News
34 minutes ago
- Sky News
'Without a doubt': Why a former state department spokesperson believes Israel has committed war crimes
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 Hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza stalled over the weekend as Hamas called for changes to the US Israel peace deal, but could the US have done more to end the war sooner? On today's episode Mark Stone is joined by Matthew Miller, who, as state department spokesperson, was the voice and the face of former US president Joe Biden's foreign policy. He tells Mark he believes Israel has 'without a doubt' committed war crimes in the fighting since 6 October 2023. Israel has strongly denied claims it has committed war crimes. Mr Miller also says no one in the last administration could have convinced Mr Biden to step down sooner, despite concerns about his public appearances. If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@
Belfast Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Several injured after ‘terror attack' on promenade in Colorado, US police say
The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled 'Free Palestine' and used a makeshift flamethrower in the attack, said Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the Denver field office. The suspect was taken into custody. No charges were immediately announced, but officials said they expect to hold him 'fully accountable'. The attack occurred at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder, where a group had gathered for an event to draw attention to Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. Injuries ranged from serious to minor. The suspect was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries. Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, 'He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails,' as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand. It occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled: 'I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza' as he was being led away by police. FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department, which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations, decried the attack as a 'needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans'. 'This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,' FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said in a post on X. Israel's war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it 'would be irresponsible for me to speculate' while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims — ranging from serious to minor — were consistent with them having been set on fire. The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was 'closely monitoring' the situation, adding that 'hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable'.
