A senior Hamas official said the proposed ceasefire offer offered “no guarantees to end the war,” but the Palestinian organization has responded to it.
Basem Naim, a spokesperson for Hamas, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the Palestinian organization had “reacted positively” to the most recent proposal that was presented to it by US special envoy Steve Witkoff despite the Palestinian group claiming that it differed from the one that it had discussed with Witkoff a week prior.
According to Naim, “We met with Mr. Witkoff and we discussed one proposal and said, “This is acceptable, we can consider this a negotiating paper,” we said. He addressed the Israelis to the opposing party to ask for their response. He instead sent us a new proposal that had nothing to do with what we had proposed instead.
Hamas had stated in a statement earlier on Saturday that it had written to Witkoff and that the proposal “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid” to Palestinians in Gaza.
In exchange for an “agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners,” Hamas added that the agreement would allow for the release of 10 living Israeli prisoners and the bodies of 18 dead Israelis.
Witkoff characterized Hamas’ response as “completely unacceptable.”
In a post on social media, the envoy wrote that “Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity discussions that can begin immediately this week.” The only way to conclude a 60-day ceasefire agreement in which the families of the dead hostages and the survivors of the dead will return home, and where we can engage in sincere negotiations in good faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire is through the proximity talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Hamas’ response, saying that it “sets the tone” and was inconvenient. Israel will continue to fight for the release of our hostages and Hamas’s demise.
Since Israel gave up its humanitarian aid in mid-May, it has now killed more than 54, 000 Palestinians. Gaza is currently a starved area because of the Israeli blockade that has been ongoing for weeks.
Starvation
After imposing a total blockade for more than two months, Israel only allows a small amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza as hopes for a permanent truce seem to be waning once more. The UN issued a warning on Friday that Gaza’s 2. 3 million people are currently in danger of starvation. That came after it announced in mid-May that one in five Palestinians there were starving.
The World Food Programme (WFP), which has prepared food close to Gaza’s borders to feed the besieged territory’s entire population for two months, has reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire as the only way to provide the food to famined Palestinians.
77 trucks loaded with flour were brought into Gaza overnight and early on Friday, according to a statement from the UN food agency, but their arrival was met with protests from their hungry families.
Other aid organizations accuse the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of continuing its own contentious aid distribution, which it claims would defy humanitarian law and militarize the delivery of desperately needed food. At least 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while attempting to get aid, according to the Gaza Government Media Office’s report this week.
Residents Layla al-Masri and Layla al-Masri described a new GHF distribution point as “we went to this new area and we came out empty-handed.” What they are saying is lies about their desire to feed the people of Gaza. They don’t give people anything to drink or feed them.
Abdel Qader Rabie, a third Palestinian who fled the besieged region, claimed that no one had anything to feed their families in the area. No food, no bread, or flour are present. He claimed that there is nothing at home.
Rabie claims that hundreds of other people are attempting to get him a box of aid at the GHF each time. “You get aid if you are strong.” You leave with empty-handed if you’re not,” Rabie continued.
There are also potential problems. People have vanished after reaching GHF distribution points, according to families.
According to Hind Khoudary, who is reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, “One of these cases is a man from the al-Mughari family. The family is appealing to the ICRC, OCHA, and the civil defense teams to go and search for him in that area, which is very close to the Netzarim Corridor.” Khoudary continued, adding that Israel’s authorities refuted the claim.
forced displacement and bombing
According to a spokesperson for the territory’s civil defense, about 60 homes have been bombed in Gaza City and northern Gaza in the last 48 hours. The Israeli army is continuing its attacks on the country.
At least 20 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli bombing, according to reports from Gaza on Saturday. Since Israel unilaterally ended a ceasefire in March and resumed its destruction of Gaza, more than 3,900 Palestinians have died, despite growing international condemnation.
The Israeli army has also ordered “all residents” of southern Khan Younis, Bani Suheila, and Abasan to leave right away since Friday’s early hours, according to reports that rockets had been fired. According to military spokesman Avichay Adraee, “the]army will aggressively attack any area that serves as a launching pad for terrorist activity.” He continued, noting that the southern Gazan area has been “awarded several warnings in the past and has been designated a dangerous combat zone.”
Nearly 200, 000 people have been displaced in the last two weeks alone, according to the UN, with displacement orders now enforcing all of Gaza’s northernmost and southernmost governorates as well as the easternmost regions of each of the three governorates in between.
Source: Aljazeera
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