Hamas Receives Israeli Response to US Gaza Proposal and is Reviewing It
Hamas has received Israel's response to a US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal and is thoroughly reviewing it, even though the response fails to meet any of the Palestinian "just and legitimate demands", group's official Basem Naim told Reuters on Friday.
Hamas official Basem Naim said the Israeli response "fundamentally seeks to entrench the occupation and perpetuate policies of killing and starvation, even during what is supposed to be a period of temporary de-escalation".
However, he said Hamas' leadership was carrying out a "thorough and responsible review of the new proposal".
The US plan provides for Hamas to release the last 30 of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce takes effect, it shows.
The Israeli army will also redeploy its troops in stages.
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 war.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 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, Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Hamas says responds to US truce proposal, to free 10 living hostages
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas on Saturday said it had responded to a ceasefire proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, saying 10 living hostages would be freed from Gaza as part of the deal. The Palestinian militant group did not explicitly say it had accepted the version of the proposal it received on Thursday, which reportedly included a provision for the release of 10 living hostages. Hamas noted that its response had been made out of a 'sense of responsibility toward our people and their suffering.' The White House previously said the proposal had been approved in advance by Israel, which on Friday warned Hamas to either accept the deal and free the hostages 'or be annihilated.' Hamas said in a statement on Friday that it had 'submitted its response to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's latest proposal to the mediating parties.' 'As part of this agreement, 10 living prisoners of the occupation held by the resistance will be released, in addition to the return of 18 bodies, in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners,' it added. A breakthrough in negotiations had been elusive since a previous ceasefire fell apart on March 18 with the resumption of Israeli operations. US President Donald Trump had said Friday that the parties were 'very close to an agreement.' Two sources close to the negotiations have said the deal involves a 60-day truce, potentially extendable to 70 days. It would see the release of five living hostages and nine bodies in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners during the first week, followed by a second exchange the following week, the sources said. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday that at least 4,117 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed major operations on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,381, mostly civilians. Hamas's attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel army says ‘several' projectiles fired from Gaza fell in open areas
The Israeli military said air raid sirens sounded in the country's south after several projectiles were launched from Gaza, adding that they fell in empty areas. 'Following the sirens that sounded at 19:01 (1601 GMT), in Ein HaShlosha and Nirim, several projectiles were identified crossing into Israel from the Gaza Strip and fell in open areas,' the military said in a statement.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Iran minister says Oman presented elements of a US proposal for nuclear deal
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his Omani counterpart presented elements of a US proposal for a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington during a short visit to Tehran on Saturday. Araghchi said in a post on X that Iran 'will respond to the US proposal in line with the principles, national interests and rights of people of Iran.' His statement came ahead of an anticipated sixth round of talks between Washington and Tehran to resolve a decades-long dispute over Iran's nuclear program. The date and venue of talks have not been yet announced. Iran's foreign ministry on Saturday also accused Israel of providing 'unreliable and misleading information' to the United Nations nuclear watchdog to be used in its new report on Tehran's nuclear program. 'Relying on unreliable and misleading information sources provided by the Israeli regime ... is contrary to the IAEA's principles of professional verification,' the ministry said in a statement.
