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Why Hamas is seeking to change the US-proposed Gaza ceasefire deal

Why Hamas is seeking to change the US-proposed Gaza ceasefire deal

Hamas claims that the recent ceasefire agreement reached by American special envoy Steve Witkoff differs from the one they had previously agreed to.

Even though the organization offered “no guarantees to end the war,” according to Naim, a senior Hamas official, Basem Naim, said on Saturday that the organization “reacted positively” to Witkoff’s most recent proposal.

More than 54, 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since October 2023, and Gaza, where 2.3 million people live, have been subjected to starvation and a famine-like situation, has been the subject of its total aid blockade since March.

Israeli aid has flown into Gaza, which humanitarian organizations have described as a “drop in an ocean,” under the influence of international pressure.

What information about the ceasefire proposal is essential?

Palestinians in Jabalia, in the center of the Gaza Strip, cries as a woman and her baby are checked out of the hospital on May 30th, 2025 [Bashar Taleb/AFP]

The proposal for a ceasefire was rejected by Hamas?

No, according to the group.

It claims to have provided a positive response but also included some crucial provisions.

What constitutes Hamas’s proposal’s main points?

A few of them exist.

Hamas has reacted to the most recent US-proposed ceasefire by demanding a way to end the conflict before starting it over from scratch, as it did in March.

Additionally, they demanded that Israeli forces completely leave the Gaza Strip and that aid and assistance be flown back to the besieged area.

someone holds up a protest sign
On May 31, 2025, hundreds of protesters in the occupied West Jerusalem [Saeed Qaq/Anadolu] gathered on Jaffa Street, including Knesset member Meirav Cohen.

What are the main contrasts between the two proposals that Witkoff presented to Hamas?

A 60-day pause in hostilities was suggested by Witkoff. After that, Israel and Hamas would come to terms with extending the pause.

The issue with this is that Israel unilaterally stopped providing aid to Gaza and began bombing it the last time it occurred. Hamas has attempted to negotiate the release date of the captives, with 10 of them still alive and 18 of the dead’s bodies, to prevent a situation like this. Within a week of the 60-day pause, Wittkoff’s suggestion was to have the information released.

Hamas has called for stabbing the captives’ release throughout the pause because it fears that Israel will resume its bombing campaign upon their return.

In an effort to derail talks and prolong the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added provisions in what critics say were an attempt to derail negotiations and prolong the war, it has called for a list of negotiation topics.

Hamas also reinserted a provision from the May 25 agreement that Israel had withdrawn, according to the website Drop Site News.

Hamas would have the authority to “an independent technocratic committee” over Gaza’s administration.

Five year-old Osama al-Raqab, suffering from severe malnutrition, undergoes treatment at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Youni in the southern Gaza Strip 31 May 2025. His mother, Mona al-Raqab says Osama's weight has dropped to just nine kilograms due to his deteriorating health condition caused by ongoing malnutrition. The UN has stated that families are being starved and denied the basic means for survival and only a trickle of aid that falls short of people's massive needs has entered the Gaza Strip after more than 80 days of a total blockade by Israeli authorities. The UN stated that Gaza is the only territory in the world where an entire population is at risk of famine. EPA-EFE/HAITHAM IMAD ATTENTION EDITORS: UPSETTING CONTENT
Children are most severely affected by famine and severe malnutrition in Gaza.

What do the US think about Hamas’ additions?

Witkoff criticized Hamas’ response as “totally unacceptable” and claimed that it “only leads us backward.”

He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity discussions that can begin immediately this week.”

“That is the only way to conclude a 60-day ceasefire agreement,” according to the statement from the statement. “We can engage in serious negotiations in good faith at the proximity talks to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, previously claimed that negotiations were close to a resolution.

What is the statement of Israel?

The terms appear to be in agreement between the US and Israel.

Israel claims that Israel’s officials approved of the US’s request for a 60-day ceasefire.

Israel “backed and supported” the new proposal, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Netanyahu criticized Hamas’ response, parroting Witkoff, and blaming the Palestinian organization for rejecting the proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of stifling the ceasefire talks.

“Hamas’s response is unacceptable and sets the scene back,” Witkoff said. Netanyahu stated that Israel will continue to work to free up our hostages and stop Hamas.

Why is Hamas holding out if the US and Israel concur?

Hamas is skeptical of previous instances in which Israel unilaterally revokes a ceasefire. When Netanyahu decided to restart the war by preventing all aid from entering Gaza in March.

The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies associate professor Tamer Qarmout described the Hamas-Israel negotiations as being conducted in “no good faith whatsoever.”

Hamas’ capitulation and surrender, as they say, and their disappearance from the scene are their main priorities, Qarmout told Al Jazeera.

“Hamas is attempting to reduce the horrors of the war, to allow some humanitarian aid to enter, and to look for a dignified exit,” said Hamas. Nobody wants to see themselves giving in this manner in Hamas.

What’s going on now?

Israel is still attacking Gaza in the interim.

Palestinians who had gathered at aid distribution centers run by a US-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, were shot on Sunday by Israeli forces in southern and central Gaza. In Rafah and another area close to the Netzarim Corridor, at least 31 people died.

Meanwhile, residential areas in Gaza continue to be bombarded relentlessly.

GAZA CITY, GAZA - MAY 29: Wounded Palestinians, including children and babies, are brought to the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after attack by the Israeli military on the Zaytoun Quarter of Gaza Strip on May 29, 2025. ( Dawoud Abo Alkas - Anadolu Agency )
After the Israeli military attacked Gaza on May 29, 2025, Palestinians who are ill, including children and infants, are taken to the al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Source: Aljazeera

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