Rushdi AbualoufGaza correspondent, Cairo and
Wyre DaviesBBC News, Tel Aviv
Reuters
A Palestinian man looks at buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in al-Shati refugee camp, northern Gaza
Hamas says it has delivered a “positive response” to mediators on the latest proposal for a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the US.
The Palestinian armed group said on Friday night that it was “seriously ready to enter immediately into a round of negotiations”, but it did not confirm whether it accepted the terms.
A senior Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas had requested several changes, including a halt to a US-backed aid system and a US guarantee that the war would not resume if talks on ending the war failed.
Israel’s government has not commented. US President Donald Trump said he had not been briefed but that it was “good” Hamas had responded positively.
“There could be a Gaza deal next week,” he told reporters on board Air Force One.
The president is known to be very keen to announce positive news when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House next week.
On Tuesday, Trump said that Israel had accepted the “necessary conditions” for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the war.
The plan is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages by Hamas and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
The proposal also reportedly says sufficient quantities of aid would enter Gaza immediately with the involvement of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Palestinian official said Hamas was demanding aid be distributed exclusively by the UN and its partners, and that the controversial aid distribution system run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) end immediately.
Another amendment demanded by Hamas was about Israeli troop withdrawals, according to the Palestinian official.
The US proposal is believed to include phased pull-outs from parts of Gaza. But the official said Hamas wanted troops
Read More