DOHA: Hamas has proposed a ceasefire to quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.
According to Reuters news agency, militant group’s proposal – a response to an offer sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and cleared by Israel and the United States – came during the biggest diplomatic push yet for an extended halt to the fighting
.Israel’s Channel 13 cited a senior official as saying some of the demands presented by Hamas were not acceptable to Israel, without providing details. Israel has previously said it will not pull its troops out of Gaza until Hamas is wiped out.
The report quoted the unidentified official as saying Israeli authorities would debate whether to reject Hamas’s proposals outright or ask for alternative conditions.
But the Hamas offer, in a document seen by Reuters and confirmed by sources, appears to finesse Hamas’s longstanding demand for a full end to the war as a pre-condition before releasing hostages it seized on Oct. 7 in the raid that precipitated Israel’s assault.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived overnight in Israel after meeting the leaders of mediators Qatar and Egypt, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the proposal.
A source close to the negotiations said the Hamas counterproposal did not require a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire at the outset, but that an end to the war would have to be agreed during the truce before final hostages were freed.
A second source said Hamas still wanted guarantees from Qatar, Egypt and other friendly states that the ceasefire would be upheld and not collapse as soon as hostages go free.
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