The Islamist group Hamas has stated its willingness to “immediately” negotiate an agreement that would release all hostages in exchange for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, after receiving a proposal from the United States for a ceasefire.
We have received, through mediators, some ideas from the United States for reaching a ceasefire agreement. “Consequently, Hamas welcomes any step that will assist the efforts made to stop the aggression against our people and affirms its readiness to immediately sit at the negotiating table,” the movement said in a statement.
Hamas reiterated that it seeks a pact that will end the war in exchange for the release of all Israeli hostages held by it and that guarantees the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave. It also referred again to the proposal drawn up by the mediators (Egypt, Qatar, and the United States), which the Islamist group accepted on August 18, insisting that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has yet to respond.
The occupation has not responded to date and has continued its massacres and ethnic cleansing. Consequently, the movement is in constant contact with the mediators to transform these ideas into a comprehensive agreement that recognizes the demands of our people,” the Hamas statement added.
The negotiations have entered a tug-of-war of statements, with Hamas insisting on the August agreement and demanding a response from Netanyahu, while the Israeli government maintains that Gaza must be controlled by its army and that Hamas must be demilitarized.
Meanwhile, this Sunday it was learned that the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, sent a new proposal to Hamas last week to reach an agreement on the Gaza hostages and a ceasefire through an Israeli peace activist, according to an Axios exclusive.
Moments later, US President Donald Trump issued a “final warning” to Hamas to accept a deal to release the hostages: “The Israelis have accepted my conditions. It’s time for Hamas to accept them too,” the president wrote on his Truth Social network.
Furthermore, an Egyptian security source confirmed this Sunday that Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are preparing a new proposal that they will “offer this week,” which includes the release of all hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, “the end of the war in Gaza, and the formation of a government on the Strip” to administer the Palestinian enclave in the post-war period.
The new contacts for a comprehensive agreement come after last Friday marked 700 days since the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza following the attacks of October 7, 2023, amid growing protests in Israel demanding the release of the 48 hostages remaining in the hands of Hamas.
In these 700 days of the offensive, more than 64,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas.
Source: lopezdoriga
