Hamas hands 'positive' ceasefire response, Israeli security cabinet to convene Saturday night
Hamas handed a "positive" response to the ceasefire and hostage deal proposal to mediators on Friday evening, a Palestinian official familiar with the matter told Reuters.
"We have handed the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, our response to the ceasefire proposal," a Hamas official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The response should help Hamas and Israel "facilitate reaching a deal," the official said. The terrorist organization later added that they "completed its internal consultations with Palestinian factions regarding the mediators' latest proposal to halt the aggression" and that they're "fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations" on the mediators' proposal for a ceasefire deal.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also said, "Hamas consulted with us, and we are interested in progressing towards an agreement."
Hamas's main demands for the ceasefire include a commitment to the free entry of humanitarian aid, while returning to a model in which UN organizations are responsible for its entry and distribution; IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip; and guarantees for a stable ceasefire and the prevention of renewed fighting, according to Palestinian sources.
An Israeli source also confirmed that Israel received the document submitted by the mediators and that it, as well as Hamas's response to the proposal, are being examined. The security cabinet will convene on Saturday night to discuss the negotiations.
"The amendments proposed in Hamas's response will challenge Israel's decision-makers," KAN quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying.
According to Al-Arabiyya, Qatari mediators received a guarantee from the US that the war would not resume after a 60-day truce.
Hamas demanded that Washington agree to be an official guarantor for a permanent end to the war, Al-Arabiyya added.
This comes after Hamas confirmed early that morning that it was discussing the US-Qatar ceasefire proposal with other Palestinian factions.
A Palestinian official of a terrorist group allied with Hamas said concerns remain over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing to Egypt, and clarity over a timetable of Israeli troop withdrawals.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is expecting to know whether Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal over the next 24 hours, Reuters reported.
The proposal, presented by Qatar and based on the Witkoff framework, calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies during a 60-day ceasefire. During that period, the sides are expected to hold talks aimed at ending the war.
Under the terms of the deal, eight hostages would be freed on the first day, with two more released on day 50. The bodies of the deceased would be returned in three phases across the two-month ceasefire.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel would release 125 Palestinian prisoners in addition to 1,111 Gazans that Israel had arrested after October 7.
On Thursday, senior Hamas officials met in Turkey to discuss the proposed framework.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel would release 125 Palestinian prisoners in addition to 1,111 Gazans that Israel had arrested after October 7.
Reuters and Maariv contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
36 minutes ago
- UPI
Israel attacks Houthi ports, Galaxy leader vessel
A handout photo made available by the Houthis media center shows a Houthis-operated helicopter flying over the cargo ship Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen, on Nov. 19, 2023. Israel on Monday said its war planes attack the vessel, saying the Houthis had put radar equipment. File Photo by Houthis Media/EPA July 6 (UPI) -- Israeli fighter jets overnight attacked three Yemeni ports under the Houthis' control, hitting infrastructure it accused the Iran-proxy militia of using to receive weapons from Iran. The Israel Defense Forces announced a few hours after the attack that it detected two missiles launched toward Israel from Yemen and that "interception attempts" were made, the results of which were pending. The IDF said it struck Houthi targets at the ports of Hudaydah, Ras Issa and As-Salif. Among the targets was the seized Galaxy Leader vessel, which the Houthis captured, along with its crew, in November 2023 when the Iran-backed group entered the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis, Israel alleges, had installed a radar system on the Japanese ship that was used to monitor vessels in international waters. A power station in Ras Kantib was also targeted, which Israel said was a major electricity supply facility for the Houthis' military. "The strike was carried out in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel, its citizens and civilian infrastructure in the country, including the launching of unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles toward Israeli territory," the IDF said. While Israel claimed its attack "destroyed" the Houthi infrastructure, Ameen Hayyan, a spokesman for the militant group, said in a statement that their air defenses "effectively repelled the Israeli aggression and forced a significant portion of its formations to retreat." Israel and Iran have long been in a proxy war that exploded into the open on Oct. 7, 2023, when Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza launched a surprise bloody assault on Israel. Israel has responded by devastating the Palestinian enclave, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians. The overnight Israeli attack, however, comes amid a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Iran and during cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas.
Boston Globe
40 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
With one war over, Netanyahu heads to Washington amid calls to end another
The last time Netanyahu was in the Oval Office, in April, he sat somewhat awkwardly at Trump's side as the president announced that Washington would be engaging in 'direct' talks with Iran in a last-ditch effort to rein in the country's nuclear program. That month, Netanyahu tried to convince Trump that the time was right for a military assault on Iran, but he was swatted down. This time, Trump is eager to advance a ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip that would see Hamas release hostages and would ultimately end the long war in the Palestinian enclave that was set off by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. On Sunday, Israel sent negotiators to Qatar, a mediating country, to try to bridge differences with Hamas. Advertisement The United States said it was also brokering talks between Israel and Syria aimed at restoring calm along their frontier. Then there is the unfinished business with Iran, given the varying assessments of how far Israel's 12-day assault and the U.S. intervention set back Iran's nuclear weapons program, and the possibility of renewed negotiations on a nuclear agreement. Advertisement 'It's a victory lap with a caveat,' said Alon Pinkas, a political commentator and Israeli former diplomat who advised several Israeli prime ministers in the past. 'Netanyahu knows the truth -- that Iran retains some capabilities,' Pinkas said. The prime minister needs clarifications from Trump, he said, about what would happen if Iran was seen to have resumed its nuclear activities, and whether the United States would back Israel if it resumed its attacks on Iran. In remarks before boarding his plane to Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said he would be meeting all the senior members of the administration and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. He said he would first thank Trump for his support for Israel. 'Our joint mobilization brought us a great victory over our joint enemy, Iran,' he said, adding that he was committed to 'preserving the achievement.' As an added benefit, the trip allows Netanyahu to postpone his cross-examination in his corruption trial, which Trump has blatantly called to be canceled. Israeli courts go on summer recess from July 21 until early September. After securing Trump's full backing for the war in Iran, Netanyahu is now somewhat beholden to his chief ally. The terms of that ceasefire or how it is supposed to be enforced are generally unknown, said Shira Efron, the director of research at Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based research group. Regarding the efforts for a Gaza ceasefire, she said, 'We've been here before,' but now there were reasons for optimism. For one thing, Trump has called for one. 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!,' he wrote on social media a week ago. He says he wants that war to end, too. Advertisement Hard-liners in Netanyahu's coalition oppose an end to the war and want Israel to remain in control of Gaza. But Netanyahu could probably sell them an initial, temporary ceasefire, Efron said, adding, 'I think we will see a full ceasefire disguised as a partial agreement.' In Israel, opposition to the war in Gaza has been growing. Many people are asking what the military is still doing there, with more than 20 soldiers killed in the past month, according to the military. More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, according to Gaza health officials whose casualty figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. About 1,200 people were killed in the October 2023 attack, and of the 251 people taken hostage, 50 remain in Gaza, about 20 of them alive, according to the Israeli authorities. The proposed truce calls for a 60-day pause in fighting during which the sides would negotiate terms for a permanent ceasefire. Hamas insists that any deal must lead to a full and lasting cessation of hostilities but has so far rejected Netanyahu's terms for ending the war. Many Israelis, including ministers in Netanyahu's government, still cling to a brazen vision for Gaza that Trump floated two Netanyahu visits ago, in February. At the time, the president declared that the United States should seize control of the Palestinian coastal enclave, permanently displace the entire population of 2 million people and turn the devastated strip into 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' Experts said the proposal would be a severe violation of international law. By the time Netanyahu came for his next White House visit, in April, Trump appeared to have moved on. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump hosts Netanyahu, hopes for Israel-Hamas deal 'this week'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Monday US President Donald Trump, who expressed hope for a "deal this week" between Israel and Hamas that sees hostages released from the Gaza Strip. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday evening in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Trump said Sunday there was a "good chance" of reaching an agreement. "We've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out," he told journalists. Netanyahu, speaking before boarding his flight to Washington on Sunday, said his meeting with Trump could "definitely help advance this" deal. The US president is pushing for a truce in the Gaza Strip, plunged into a humanitarian crisis after nearly two years of war. Netanyahu said he dispatched the team to Doha with "clear instructions" to reach an agreement "under the conditions that we have agreed to." He previously said Hamas's response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained "unacceptable" demands. - 'Important mission' - Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. Netanyahu has an "important mission" in Washington, "advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home," said Israeli President Isaac Herzog after meeting him Sunday. Trump is not scheduled to meet the Israeli premier until 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Since Hamas's October 2023 attack sparked the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting. They have seen hostages freed in exchange for some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for a lasting ceasefire. - 'Enough blood' - In Gaza, the territory's civil defense agency reported 26 people killed by Israeli forces on Sunday, 10 of them in a strike in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. "We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now," Sheikh Radwan resident Osama al-Hanawi told AFP. "Enough blood has been shed." Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates. - Hundreds killed seeking aid - The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries. But its operations have had a chaotic rollout, with repeated reports of aid seekers killed near its facilities while awaiting rations. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. The UN human rights office said last week that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points. The Gaza health ministry on Sunday placed that toll even higher, at 751 killed. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable. burs/smw/tc/rsc
