Hamas formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal, saying it was ready to negotiate an agreement immediately that would release all remaining hostages in exchange for the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
“We will not accept part of the deal on Netanyahu’s political agenda (Israel Prime Minister Benjamin)” Hamas’ chief negotiator Halil al-Hayya said in a video statement.
Fifty-nine hostages remained imprisoned, and 24 were believed to be alive. Israel’s latest offer involves a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for 10 hostages.
The far-right Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was time to “open Hamas’ door”.
Hamas officials had already told the BBC earlier this week that they rejected the plan.
“Netanyahu and his government use part of the agreement as cover for their political agenda, even if the price is sacrificing all prisoners (hostages), which is based on the continuing war of extinction and hunger,” Haiya said.
He added that the group “was ready to negotiate an immediate agreement to exchange all hostages with the agreed Palestinians imprisoned by Israel” and end the war.
Hamas has previously said it would consider ending the overall deal to end the war, but the two sides are far from any kind of agreement.
What Israel said is the goal of total disarmament and destruction of Hamas. At the same time, deaths are being carried out every day in air strikes, and no humanitarian aid enters the zone.
The latest series of Israel strikes Kill at least 37 peopleAccording to the civil defense agency operated by Gaza Hamas-Most of them are displaced from the civilians in the tent camp.
Al-Mawasi witnesses said dozens of Palestinians, including children, died after the tent fire after the “powerful” explosion.
A man told the BBC’s Gaza Lifeline Plan.
The Israeli military did not comment immediately, but said it was studying reports of the strike.
Israel had previously told Palestinians to evacuate from other parts of Gaza to Al-Mawasi.
The Israeli military said the attacks in the past two days “hit more than 100 terrorist targets”, including “terrorists, military structures and infrastructure sites.”
Israel said there was no shortage of aid and it was maintaining the lockdown installed on March 1 to oppress Hamas to release the rest of the hostages.
However, the head of 12 major aid organizations said Gaza’s humanitarian aid system “faced a complete collapse”.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on the Israeli community, killing about 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.
Israeli military campaign against Hamas killed at least 51,065 people, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health in the region.
