Hamas says it has agreed to a new Gaza ceasefire proposal as mediators from Qatar and Egypt push to renew talks ahead of a major Israeli assault on Gaza City.
In a statement, Hamas said it had accepted the new proposal presented on Sunday by Qatar and Egypt.
Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said on social media, “The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.”
Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received the Hamas response from mediators. One of the Israeli officials said that the government’s position had not changed, which includes calling for the release of all the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and Israeli security control of the besieged territory.
The proposal marks a renewed effort from mediators to restart negotiations that fell apart in July, extinguishing what had been the best hopes to stop the fighting in months. It also dashed chances of an imminent end to the war, and Israel’s security cabinet recently voted to escalate the conflict and occupy Gaza City.
The newly approved operation increased pressure on mediators to renew talks and secure a deal in an attempt to avert an even worse humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The new proposal adheres closely to the last ceasefire plan discussed before negotiations fell apart last month.
A senior Hamas official told CNN the proposal calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages. The hostages will be released in exchange for 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years. Israel will also release all Palestinian minors and female prisoners, the official said.
According to a diplomat briefed on the negotiations, Qatari and Egyptian mediators secured a breakthrough that preserves 98% of the last proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, to which Israel had previously agreed. The mediators put pressure on Hamas to accept the proposal.
The proposal entails a ceasefire during which Israeli forces redeploy to the lines specified in the Witkoff proposal, while humanitarian aid flows intensively to meet the basic needs of the population in Gaza.
Hardening Positions
Prior to talks collapsing in July, the most difficult issues in the negotiations included the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the hostages, the size of the Israeli buffer zone around Gaza, and the scope of the Israeli withdrawal during the ceasefire.
Hamas also demanded a comprehensive end to the war, which Israel has refused.
The US and Israel indicated they would harden their positions, only accepting a comprehensive deal instead of a partial agreement, when the last round of negotiations failed.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said on social media, “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.”
Source:CNN/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma