Hamas accepts peace deal and hostage return proposal

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a hostage return deal as the Israeli Prime Minister vows to go ahead with the offensive on Gaza City. The deal - presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators - involves a 60-day pause in fighting and the release of around half of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for 150 Palestinian security prisoners.
It is based on a proposal introduced by Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in June. 'The Hamas movement and the Palestinian factions have conveyed their approval on the proposal presented yesterday by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators,' the terror group said in a statement. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemingly dismissed Hamas' response, with his office saying last week that it would only accept a deal if 'all the hostages are released in one go'.
Netanyahu signalled that Israel would instead push ahead with its planned operation to conquer Gaza City - the enclave's most populous region of 740,000 civilians - and transfer its inhabitants to the southern Strip. But in a video released after Hamas' acceptance of the deal, the Israeli Prime Minister did not directly comment on the proposal - indicating that Jerusalem is still considering its options. 'We can see clearly that Hamas is under immense pressure,' Netanyahu said. The U.S. President appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations that Washington has mediated as well. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,' he posted on social media.
Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks appeared to break down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine. Plans to expand the offensive, in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, attack that started the war. Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests and a national general strike on Sunday calling for their return. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are 'exerting extensive efforts' to revive the U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining 50 hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.
Abdelatty spoke to journalists during a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began. He said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. Abdelatty added that they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once. Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the AP that the militant group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating.
An Egyptian official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, said the proposal includes changes to Israel's pullback of its forces and guarantees for negotiations on a lasting ceasefire during the initial truce. The official said it is almost identical to an earlier proposal accepted by Israel, which has not yet joined the latest talks. Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egypt State Information Service, told the AP that Egypt and Qatar have sent the Hamas-accepted proposal to Israel. An Israeli official said Israel's positions, including on the release of all hostages, had not changed from previous rounds of talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that ignited the war. Around 20 of the hostages still in Gaza are believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own. The ministry said 1,965 people have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid since May, either in the chaos around U.N. convoys or while heading to sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds seeking aid. Israel says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on rare occasions to prevent deadly crowding.
Experts have warned that Israel's ongoing offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine, even after it eased a complete 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May. Gaza's Health Ministry said Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes. It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June. Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of 'carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation'.
Israel has rejected such allegations, saying it allows in enough food and accusing the U.N. of failing to promptly deliver it. U.N. agencies say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, around three-quarters of which is now controlled by Israel. The U.N. World Food Program said Monday that U.N. partner organisations reported that community kitchens in north and south Gaza produced 380,000 daily meals daily last week - far fewer than the more than 1 million daily meals they produced in April.