Hamas on Thursday rejected any proposal for a temporary halt to fighting in Gaza and reiterated its insistence on a lasting ceasefire, as U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators attempt to prod the Palestinian terror group to return to negotiating table.
“The idea of a temporary truce in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary end,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior official with the Palestinian terror group Hamas, told AFP.
Mediators seeking to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza should present Hamas with a proposal for a truce lasting less than a month, a source familiar with the talks told AFP on Wednesday.
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The proposal was discussed in meetings in Doha between the head of the Mossad intelligence agency David Barnea, CIA Director William Burns and the Prime Minister of Qatar, which concluded on Monday, the source said undercover of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
The source echoed reports in Israeli media that the latest proposal involved the exchange of several hostages kidnapped during the pogrom carried out by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel. Israel against Palestinian prisoners incarcerated for undermining security in Israel and increasing aid entering the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli media, the head of Mossad presented Qatari interlocutors with a proposal to release 11 to 14 hostages from Gaza in exchange for around a hundred Palestinian security prisoners, as well as a one-month truce in the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Mossad chief David Barnea attending a ceremony marking the first anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar of the October 7, 2023 Hamas pogrom that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, on the 27 October 2024. (Credit: Chaïm Goldberg/FLASH90)
All women and children still held by the terrorist group would be among the hostages released under the deal.
“US officials believe that if a short-term deal can be reached, it could lead to a more permanent deal,” the source said.
Nunu said Hamas had not received any proposals so far, adding that if the terror group received such a plan, it would respond.
However, he reiterated the demands on which the terrorist group has been insisting for months, namely “a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal [des troupes israéliennes] of Gaza, the return of displaced persons, sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza and a serious prisoner exchange agreement.
According to previous reports, the proposal does not require a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip or a complete cessation of fighting – two sticking points during previous rounds of talks which failed, with Hamas insisting on fact that he wouldn’t accept anything less.
Qatar is also reportedly preparing to present two other short-term truce proposals to Hamas: a two-day ceasefire offer presented by Egyptian mediators to exchange four Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a another developed by Moscow with a view to the release of two hostages of Russian nationality.
The Hamas official’s statements come as Qatari mediators reportedly met with the Palestinian terror group’s leaders in Doha to discuss whether Hamas is willing to return to the negotiating table.
An estimated 97 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 are still in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 hostages whose deaths were confirmed by the Israeli military.
An International Red Cross vehicle carrying Russian-Israeli hostage Roni Krivoi released by Hamas drives towards the Rafah border crossing with Egypt before a transfer to Israel, November 26, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/ AFP)
Hamas released 105 civilians during a week-long truce in late November. Four captives had previously been released. Eight living hostages were rescued by soldiers and the remains of 37 hostages were recovered, including those of three Israelis who were accidentally killed by the army.
The Palestinian terrorist group also holds two Israeli civilians who entered the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
