Latest news with #Hamas'
India Today
24 minutes ago
- Politics
- India Today
Hamas seeks changes in Gaza ceasefire proposal, US envoy calls it ‘unacceptable'
Hamas is seeking amendments to the latest US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior official told The Associated Press on Saturday, as hungry Palestinians stopped and emptied dozens of aid trucks. The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, told news agency AP that the proposed amendments focus on 'US guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.' advertisementA separate Hamas statement called for a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal, and an assured flow of humanitarian aid. The group said it would release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 others in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners. Of the 250 hostages taken during Hamas' October 7 attack, 58 remain alive in Gaza, while Israel believes 35 are Calls Response 'Unacceptable' However, US envoy Steve Witkoff called Hamas' response 'totally unacceptable.' He outlined on social media that the US proposal includes a 60-day ceasefire, the release of half the living hostages, and the return of half of those who have died. Witkoff urged Hamas to accept the framework as a starting point for negotiations, which could begin as soon as next officials have approved the ceasefire plan, and former U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators are 'nearing a deal' after nearly 20 months of want the bloodshed to stop,' said Motasim, a resident of the Al-Bureij refugee camp. 'I swear to God, we are tired.'Desperation And Aid Crisis In GazaAs hunger grows, Palestinians in Gaza stopped and emptied 77 UN aid trucks, mostly carrying flour, before the supplies could reach their destinations, the UN World Food Program said. A witness in Khan Younis reported thousands of civilians offloading the aid at a makeshift WFP warned of a severe famine threat and said it has over 140,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed Gaza for two months, ready to enter the territory, but insecurity and restrictions prevent safe delivery. 'We need to flood communities with food to calm anxieties and rebuild trust that more is coming,' the WFP three-month blockade by Israel has pushed more than 2 million people to the brink of starvation. Although Israel has allowed some aid trucks recently, aid organizations say it remains insufficient. According to Israel's coordination body, COGAT, 579 trucks entered last week compared to 600 per day during the previous Watch
France 24
44 minutes ago
- Politics
- France 24
Hamas seeks amendments to Gaza ceasefire proposal, US envoy slams them as ‘unacceptable'
Hamas said on Saturday it was seeking amendments to a US-backed proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, but President Donald Trump's envoy rejected the group's response as 'totally unacceptable.' The Palestinian militant group said it was willing to release 10 living hostages and hand over the bodies of 18 dead in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. But Hamas reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Israel has rejected. A Hamas official described the group's response to the proposals from Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as 'positive' but said it was seeking some amendments. The official did not elaborate on the changes being sought by the group. 'This response aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip,' Hamas said in a statement. The proposals would see a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave. Israel has previously rejected Hamas' conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages. Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close after the latest proposals, and the White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms. Saying he had received Hamas' response, Witkoff wrote in a posting on X: 'It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week.' Gazans desperate for food The Israeli military, which relaunched its air and ground campaign in March following a two-month truce, said on Saturday it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site. The campaign has cleared large areas along the boundaries of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies entering the enclave at the beginning of March in an effort to weaken Hamas and has found itself under increasing pressure from an international community shocked by the desperate humanitarian situation the blockade has created. On Saturday, aid groups said dozens of World Food Programme trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people desperate for food after weeks of mounting hunger. 'Mass tragedy unfolding' The United Nations said on Friday the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month. 'The aid that's being sent now makes a mockery of the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch,' Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinians, said in a message on X. Israel has been allowing a limited number of trucks from the World Food Programme and other international groups to bring flour to bakeries in Gaza but deliveries have been hampered by repeated incidents of looting. A separate system, run by a US-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been delivering meals and food packages at three designated distribution sites. However, aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, which they say is not neutral, and say the amount of aid allowed in falls far short of the needs of a population at risk of famine. Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries, pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centres and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza. Israel began its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza. The campaign has laid waste large areas of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying or damaging most of its buildings, leaving most of the population in makeshift shelters.
Axios
an hour ago
- Politics
- Axios
White House envoy says Hamas response to U.S. proposal "takes us backward"
White House envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement on Saturday that Hamas' response to his ceasefire and hostage deal proposal is "totally unacceptable and only takes us backward." Why it matters: Hamas didn't accept Witkoff's proposal as a basis for negotiations and demanded numerous changes that brought the negotiations once again to a deadlock. This comes after President Trump expressed optimism on Friday about the chances of getting a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza soon and stressed that both sides "want to get out of this mess." Driving the news: Witkoff sent Hamas a new U.S. proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal on Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Israel signed off on the proposal before Witkoff submitted it to Hamas. Witkoff's proposal for a 60-day ceasefire — under which Trump would guarantee Israel's compliance — didn't differ much from previous propositions. It involved the release of 10 live hostages and 18 deceased hostages held in Gaza — half on the first day and half on day 7 of the ceasefire. In exchange, Israel would release 125 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel, another 1,100 Palestinians detained by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza after Oct. 7, 2023, and the bodies of 180 Palestinians allegedly killed during attacks on Israelis. Catch up quick: Over the last two days, Hamas has been debating the proposal internally. Some of Hamas' leaders believed that rather than meeting in the middle, Witkoff's offer included new concessions to Israel. Hamas officials expressed serious concerns about the lack of clear guarantees that Israel won't again unilaterally end the ceasefire. State of play: Hamas gave its response to Witkoff on Saturday through the Palestinian-American businessman Bishara Bahbah who has been facilitating talks with the group. Hamas also sent its response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators. In its response, Hamas asked to change the sequence and the timetable for the release of the 10 live hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages that are included in the deal so that it takes place on six tranches during the 60-day ceasefire. Hamas also demanded that the IDF fully withdraw to the lines it was positioned before the previous ceasefire collapsed in March. But the main sticking point was Hamas' demand for U.S. guarantees for ending the war. Zoom in: While Witkoff's proposal said the U.S., Qatar and Egypt would all guarantee serious negotiations take place for a permanent ceasefire, Hamas demanded in its response a clear U.S. guarantee that the negotiations will end with an announcement on a permanent ceasefire, sources with direct knowledge said. "Hamas also wanted the text to say that if an agreement on a permanent ceasefire isn't reached within 60-days, the temporary ceasefire will be automatically extended for an unlimited period," a source with direct knowledge said. What they are saying:"Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week," Witkoff said in a statement on Saturday, rejecting Hamas' response. The White House envoy said the only way to start a negotiation on a permanent ceasefire is if Hamas agrees in the coming days to the 60-day ceasefire deal. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said that while Israel agreed to Witkoff's proposal, "Hamas continues its rejectionism." "Israel will continue its efforts to bring our hostages home and to defeat Hamas," the prime minister's office said.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Hamas' cease-fire ‘counteroffer' is just a demand for Israel to give up the war
Hamas on Saturday announced it had 'responded to' the latest ceasefire proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, apparently seeking assurances that Israel won't simply go back to eliminating it when the 60-day pause is up. Reality check: The terrorists are only talking because they're losing, badly — losing whatever support they had from ordinary Gazans as well as militarily. Hamas' main hope is to somehow manipulate Team Trump's peace efforts into a license to survive — to somehow have the war end with it intact in Gaza, still in power and with its sponsors and enablers again resupplying it. Advertisement To that end, it aims to leverage President Donald Trump's hopes to end the bloodshed as well as: Israeli public opinion, include the deep desire to recover the 20 or so still living hostages as well as the remains of the dozens who've died in captivity, plus general war-weariness and partisan opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition Sympathy for its other hostages: Gaza's 2 million civilians. Hamas has never cared a whit for their lives or well-being, except as potential recruits, human shields and reason for an influx of aid that the terrorists can siphon off for their use. It will happily martyr any or all of them for the cause of destroying Israel — even as it pretends to make concessions in their name to serve its true agenda. Advertisement Its de facto fifth column all across the West, including the 'tentifada' fanatics and fools on Columbia and other campuses, and all the politicians and media figures who buy the terrorists' propaganda. The dogged self-deception of the international 'peace process' veterans, still imagining that a 'two-state solution' is the key to resolving all the region's conflicts — an 'answer' that's now a complete fantasy that disregards every development of the last three decades. Arab rulers' inability to simply abandon decades of anti-Israel propaganda even though they (mostly) recognize it no longer serves their most urgent needs. Israel's current offensive has already taken out hundreds more Hamas fighters and yet another round of leadership, including the last Sinwar. The IDF is poised to take full control of Gaza, clear the final bunkers and tunnels and crush the remaining terror brigades. Advertisement And Jerusalem has cut off Hamas' resupply, refusing to allow aid to enter Gaza without firm controls that ensure it goes straight to civilians. Not allowing the terrorists to capture it — and to charge civilians for access to any of it — has helped turn the tide of public opinion: Ordinary Gazans increasingly know the war continues only because Hamas won't surrender or even negotiate a departure of its remaining forces. Witkoff's latest offer would have Hamas turn over 10 living hostages and a dozen or two bodies, in exchange for 125 terrorists serving life sentences plus another 1,000-plus jailbirds and a 60-day ceasefire and ongoing talks toward a full peace settlement. But Hamas knows full well that Netanyahu won't end the war until the terrorists are all dead, surrendered or expelled from Gaza: He refuses to allow for any possibility of another Oct. 7, and Israeli public opinion so far supports him. Advertisement So the terror group's counteroffer is to demand some kind of guarantee that Washington won't let the IDF resume operations when the 60 days are up, as well as the resumption of aid entering under UN or similar auspices, without Israeli controls. As things stand, Hamas is toast within months. To get hostages returned, Israel will allow it a respite — and so risk some development (Netanyahu's ouster, a drastic shift in the region, Washington concluding it needs the war ended; who knows?) that would let the terror group hang on in Gaza. Unless Team Trump decides to overrule Israel's unchanged war goals, Hamas will have to settle for that hope of a lifeline, or no deal is happening.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Hamas seeks changes in U.S. Gaza proposal; Witkoff calls response 'unacceptable'
CAIRO/JERUSALEM -Hamas said on Saturday it was seeking amendments to a U.S.-backed proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, but President Donald Trump's envoy rejected the group's response as "totally unacceptable." The Palestinian militant group said it was willing to release 10 living hostages and hand over the bodies of 18 dead in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. But Hamas reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Israel has rejected. A Hamas official described the group's response to the proposals from Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as "positive" but said it was seeking some amendments. The official did not elaborate on the changes being sought by the group. "This response aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip," Hamas said in a statement. The proposals would see a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave. A Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that among amendments Hamas is seeking is the release of the hostages in three phases over the 60-day truce and more aid distribution in different areas. Hamas also wants guarantees the deal will lead to a permanent ceasefire, the official said. There was no immediate response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office to the Hamas statement. Israel has previously rejected Hamas' conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages. Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close after the latest proposals, and the White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms. Saying he had received Hamas' response, Witkoff wrote in a posting on X: "It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week." On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas' Gaza chief on May 13, confirming what Netanyahu said earlier this week. Sinwar, the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel, was the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death. The Israeli military, which relaunched its air and ground campaign in March following a two-month truce, said on Saturday it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site. The campaign has cleared large areas along the boundaries of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies entering the enclave at the beginning of March in an effort to weaken Hamas and has found itself under increasing pressure from an international community shocked by the desperate humanitarian situation the blockade has created. On Saturday, aid groups said dozens of World Food Programme trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people desperate for food after weeks of mounting hunger. "After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by," the WFP said in a statement. 'A MOCKERY' The incident was the latest in a series that has underscored the shaky security situation hampering the delivery of aid into Gaza, following the easing of a weeks-long Israeli blockade earlier this month. The United Nations said on Friday the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month. "The aid that's being sent now makes a mockery of the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinians, said in a message on X. Israel has been allowing a limited number of trucks from the World Food Programme and other international groups to bring flour to bakeries in Gaza but deliveries have been hampered by repeated incidents of looting. A separate system, run by a U.S.-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been delivering meals and food packages at three designated distribution sites. However, aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, which they say is not neutral, and say the amount of aid allowed in falls far short of the needs of a population at risk of famine. Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said the dire situation was being exploited by armed groups which were attacking some of the aid convoys. He said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a "systematic policy of starvation". Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries, pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centres and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza. Instead it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies intended for civilians and using them to entrench its hold on Gaza, which it had been running since 2007. Hamas denies looting supplies and has executed a number of suspected looters. Israel began its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza. The campaign has laid waste large areas of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying or damaging most of its buildings, leaving most of the population in makeshift shelters.
