Israel has made no official comment on Hamas’ response.
Cairo:
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has rejected Israel’s ceasefire offer and said on Saturday it had submitted its response to the proposal received last Monday to mediators in Egypt and Qatar.
Negotiations remain deadlocked after more than six months of war with Israel in Gaza, with Hamas insisting on its demand that any deal must end the war.
“We ..reaffirm our insistence on our demands and the national demands of our people; the achievement of a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the entire Gaza Strip, the return of displaced persons to their areas and places of residence, the intensification of the access of relief and assistance and the beginning of reconstruction ,” the Islamic faction said.
Israel wants to ensure the return of hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, but says it will not stop fighting until Hamas’s military power is destroyed. It also said it still planned attacks on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million civilians have taken refuge.
Hamas said on Saturday it was ready to reach a prisoner-for-hostage deal with Israel, in which 133 hostages believed to be still being held in Gaza would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
Israel has made no official comment on Hamas’ response.
Hamas’ statement came days after Israel killed several family members of the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, raising concerns among the hostages’ families that it would undermine efforts to secure their release from Gaza. .
In an interview with Reuters in Qatar a day after the killings, Haniyeh said his group was still seeking a deal but accused Israel of stalling and evading responses to the group’s demands.
As the war enters its seventh month, calls for a global ceasefire are growing, but talks have shown little sign of progress.
Hamas demands that Israel cease its offensive, withdraw its troops and allow Gaza’s displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
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