Hamas Unlikely to Reject Ceasefire but Will Demand Israeli Withdrawal: Source

The Hamas terrorist group is unlikely to reject a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received from mediators this week, but will...

The post Hamas Unlikely to Reject Ceasefire but Will Demand Israeli Withdrawal: Source first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

The Hamas terrorist group is unlikely to reject a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received from mediators this week, but will not sign it without assurances that Israel has committed to ending the war, a Palestinian official close to the talks said on Thursday.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators presented Hamas this week with the first concrete proposal for an extended halt to fighting in Gaza, agreed with Israel and the United States at talks in Paris last week. Hamas has said it is studying the text and preparing a response.

The Palestinian official said the Paris text envisions a first phase lasting 40 days, during which fighting would cease while Hamas freed remaining civilians from among more than 100 hostages it is still holding. Further phases would see the release of Israeli soldiers and the handover of bodies of dead hostages.

“I expect that Hamas will not reject the paper, but it might not give a decisive agreement either,” said the Palestinian official speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Instead, I expect them to send a positive response, and reaffirm their demands: for the agreement to be signed, it must ensure Israel will commit to ending the war in Gaza and pull out from the enclave completely.”

The head of the Hamas political unit in exile, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters in a message that the group had nothing to add since it announced two days ago that it was studying the truce offer.

Such a long pause would be a first since Oct. 7, when Hamas fighters attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, precipitating an Israeli offensive that has laid waste to much of Gaza. Health officials in the enclave said on Thursday the confirmed death toll had risen above 27,000, with thousands more dead still lying under the rubble.

The only pause in the fighting so far, at the end of November, lasted only a week. International aid agencies have pleaded for an extended respite to alleviate a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave, where nearly the entire 2.3 million-strong population has been made homeless.

The big gap between the two sides appears to be over what would follow any agreed truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to pull troops out until “total victory”, which he defines as eradicating Hamas.

Hamas says it will not sign up to any temporary truce unless Israel commits to a withdrawal and permanent end to the war.

In a sign of the seriousness of the proposal, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has said he will travel to Cairo to discuss it, although no firm date has been given for his trip.

The post Hamas Unlikely to Reject Ceasefire but Will Demand Israeli Withdrawal: Source first appeared on Algemeiner.com.