
261 days of Gaza bombardment: Shiites stage peaceful protest in Abuja, demand end to massacre
Hamas responds to Gaza truce proposal with amendments to aid, Israeli pullout
The Palestinian group Hamas submitted on Wednesday its response to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day truce in Gaza.
The response includes proposed amendments to maps of areas from which the Israeli military should withdraw and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war, one Egyptian source familiar with the matter and another Hamas source told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
It also proposes amendments regarding the entry of aid – Hamas has reportedly asked that only UN agencies handle aid entry and distribution while the US and Israel backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is excluded.
GHF aid distribution has been marred by scenes of chaos and bloodshed since it began operations in Gaza in late May, with over 1,000 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces as they waited to receive aid.
The US and Israel-backed scheme bypasses the UN and has been slammed by the United Nations and humanitarian officials as a “death trap.”
Hamas has reportedly proposed including a clause in any ceasefire agreement that would require the immediate reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in both directions once the ceasefire takes effect.
Hundreds of tons of aid are stuck at the Egyptian side of the border in Rafah due to Israel’s blockade. Over 100 Palestinians in Gaza – most of them children – have starved to death, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The sources revealed that American mediators emphasised their commitment to ensuring that negotiations will continue beyond the 60-day period, even if a final agreement is not reached.
“The ball is now in the Israeli side’s court, as the mediators await its response on the aid clause and redeployment maps,” the sources said.
The Egyptian source noted that if the response is positive, it would mean a framework agreement has been reached and the truce would go into effect.
Regarding concerns on Israel displacing Palestinians from Gaza, a Hamas leader explained that there are guarantees that the enclave will not be emptied of its inhabitants.
He emphasised that the opening of the Rafah crossing would allow for the freedom of movement to prevent the coastal enclave from being transformed into a large prison, and to allow those stranded in Egypt to return to Gaza and reunite with their families.
The United States said its special envoy Steve Witkoff would head to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and might visit the Middle East afterwards.
Witkoff was departing with the “strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to,” US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday.
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks in Doha with mediators in an attempt to reach an agreement on a truce deal that would see the release of 10 Israeli captives in exchange for an as yet undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.
But the talks have dragged on for more than two weeks without a breakthrough, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands.
For Israel, dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities is non-negotiable, while Hamas demands firm guarantees on a lasting truce, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the free flow of aid into Gaza.
More than 59,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war started on 7 October 2023, most of them civilians, says the territory’s health ministry. Thousands more are believed to be buried beneath the rubble.