Hamas says US's ceasefire proposal deviated from agreed text after Israeli intervention; Witkoff calls it 'unacceptable'
Palestinain group Hamas has sought amendments to the latest ceasefire proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff, claiming the initial text it had agreed upon was different from the one presented to the group now.
According to a media reports, citing senior Hamas official Basem Naim, the new agreement presented to them after suggestions from Israel was a "completely new text" and "had nothing to do with" what they agreed upon.
Hamas claimed that the new proposal did not guarantee a 60-day truce as agreed earlier and also failed to ensure the inflow of much-needed humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory.
The latest agreement also provided no guarantees for negotiations to end the war, or a permanent ceasefire or a total withdrawal of troops from Gaza.
"It also only talks about the redeployment of Israeli forces inside Gaza, and requires negotiations from the beginning about the new redeployment plans within the 60 days," Al Jazeera quoted Naim as saying.
According to Hamas, the US proposed agreement also legitimised the US-backed aid distribution system, which has been slammed by the UN and other aid agencies as helping Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.
"Hamas has sought changes to the proposal, to find a way to guarantee the minimum of the needs of our people,' Naim said.
In an earlier statement, Hamas had said that the proposal aimed for a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an ensured flow of aid. It said 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 others would be released ' in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners.'
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff called the Hamas response 'totally unacceptable' and described a 60-day ceasefire deal that would free half the living hostages in Gaza and return half of those who have died. He urged Hamas to accept the framework proposal as the basis for talks that he said could begin next week.
The UN on Friday issued a stark warning regarding the crisis in Gaza, calling it the "hungriest place on earth" and repeated that Palestinians are at risk of a famine.
The UN also said its mission to help starving Palestinians is the most obstructed in recent history. Israel has been accused of weaponisng starvation in Gaza, which amounts to a war crime.
According to the UN, tonnes of aid are waiting at the border but only a trickle of it is being allowed inside by Israel. The UN had earlier stated that Israeli army's restrictions have made it difficult for the aid workers to reach the Palestinians, even after aid entering the territory.
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has so far killed at least 54,381 Palestinians, mostly women and children. This includes at least 60 people killed in different airstrikes across Gaza in less than 24 hours on Saturday in Israel's intensified genocidal operations in the territory.
Israel has also killed aid workers, healthcare workers and journalists in targeted attacks. More than 200 journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza since October 2023.
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