Gaza: Hamas has received Israel’s official response to its latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and will review the document before sending a reply.
As stated in a statement released by the group on Saturday, deputy Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya “has received today the official response of the Zionist occupation to the proposal presented to the Egyptian and the Qatari mediators on April 13.”
Negotiations to achieve a ceasefire are at a standstill after more than six months of Israel’s deadly bombardment on the Gaza Strip. Hamas is adamant that any agreement with Israel must terminate Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave.
The official, who requested anonymity, added that Israel had no fresh demands to make but was prepared to think about a limited truce that would see Hamas release 33 prisoners rather than the 40 that had previously been discussed. To put an end to the conflict, the US and 17 other nations urged Hamas to free all of its prisoners on Thursday.
Hamas declared that it was “open to any ideas or proposals that take into account the needs and rights of our people” in a statement released on Friday.
The group criticized the joint statement released by the US and others for failing to demand a permanent truce and the evacuation of Israeli soldiers from the Palestinian enclave that has been devastated by violence, but it remained steadfast in its demand that Israel terminate its war in Gaza.
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