Hamas says it responds to Gaza ceasefire proposal in 'a positive spirit'
US President Donald Trump had announced a 'final proposal' for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, saying he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours.
Hamas wrote on its official website: 'The Hamas movement has completed its internal consultations as well as discussions with Palestinian factions and forces regarding the latest proposal by the mediators to halt the aggression against our people in Gaza.
'The movement has delivered its response to the brotherly mediators, which was characterised by a positive spirit. Hamas is fully prepared, with all seriousness, to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework,' the statement said.
In a sign of potential challenges still facing the sides, a Palestinian official of a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing to Egypt and clarity over a timetable of Israeli troop withdrawals.
Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed 'to the necessary conditions to finalise' a 60-day ceasefire, during which efforts would be made to end the US ally's war in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump's announcement, and in their public statements the two sides remain far apart. Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media cited an Israeli official as saying that Israel had received and was looking into Hamas' response to the ceasefire proposal.
Trump expressed optimism late on Friday to reporters aboard Air Force One, who asked about Hamas' response.
'They said they gave me a positive response? Well, that's good,' Trump said, adding that he had not yet been briefed. 'There could be a Gaza deal next week.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
BRICS nations to denounce Trump tariffs
BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump's hardline trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East. Image: AFP BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump's hardline trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East. Emerging nations representing about half the world's population and 40% of global economic output are set to unite over what they see as unfair US import tariffs, according to sources familiar with summit negotiations. Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive tariffs. His latest salvo comes in the form of letters due to be sent starting Friday informing trading partners of new tariff rates expected next week on July 9. Diplomats from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have been busy drafting a statement condemning the economic uncertainty. Any final summit declaration is not expected to mention the United States or its president by name. But it is expected to be a clear political shot directed at Washington. "We're anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration," Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio's Pontifical Catholic University said. This is particularly the case for China, which has only recently negotiated with the US to lower steep tit-for-tat levies. "This doesn't seem to be the right time to provoke further friction" between the world's two leading economies, Fernandez said. Xi no show Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But the summit's political punch will be depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. "I expect there will be speculation about the reasons for Xi's absence," said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank. "The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing," said Hass. The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin. Hass said Putin's non-attendance and the fact that India's prime minister will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi's absence. "Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi," who will receive a state lunch, he said. "I expect Xi's decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors." Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage. In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run. Middle path Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel is also skipping the meeting. A source familiar with the negotiations said the BRICS countries were still in disagreement over how to respond to the wars in Gaza and between Iran and Israel. Iranian negotiators are pushing for a tougher collective stance that goes beyond referencing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state and for disputes to be resolved peacefully. Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit. Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, by Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia. Analysts say that it has given the grouping more potential international punch. But it has also opened many new fault lines. Brazil hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues. "BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there's no reason why that shouldn't be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East," Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP. AFP
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Zim editor granted bail after days in jail
HARARE - Zimbabwe Independent editor Faith Zaba is free after days in jail. Her crime? Allegedly insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a satirical column that branded him the "Head of a Mafia State." Harare Magistrate Douglas Vakai Chikwekwe granted Zaba US$200 bail with strict reporting conditions. Journalist Blessed Mhlanga who has recently also spent weeks in jail for his work, says the crackdown on journalists is a major concern. Zaba will be back in court on 29 July.
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Elon Musk says he has created a new US political party
WASHINGTON - Elon Musk, an ex-ally of US President Donald Trump, said he had launched a new political party in the United States to challenge what the tech billionaire described as the country's "one-party system." The world's richest person -- and Trump's biggest political donor in the 2024 election -- had a bitter falling out with the president after leading the Republican's effort to slash spending and cut federal jobs as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has clashed with Trump over the president's massive domestic spending plan, saying it would explode the US debt, and vowed to do everything in his power to defeat lawmakers who voted for it. Now he has created the so-called America Party, his own political framework, through which to try and achieve that. "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy," the Space X and Tesla boss posted on X, the social media platform that he owns. "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom." Musk cited a poll -- uploaded on Friday, US Independence Day -- in which he asked whether respondents "want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system" that has dominated US politics for some two centuries. The yes-or-no survey earned more than 1.2 million responses. "By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!" he posted on Saturday. Musk also shared a meme depicting a two-headed snake and the caption "End the Uniparty." It is not clear how much impact the new party would have on the 2026 mid-term elections, or on the presidential vote two years after that. The Trump-Musk feud reignited in dramatic fashion late last month as Trump pushed Republicans in Congress to ram through his massive domestic agenda in the form of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Musk expressed fierce opposition to the legislation, and ruthlessly attacked its Republican backers for supporting "debt slavery." He vowed to launch a new political party to challenge lawmakers who campaigned on reduced federal spending only to vote for the bill, which experts say will pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the US deficit.
