Hamas says studying new Gaza ceasefire proposal

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday said its leadership is studying the latest ceasefire proposal it received from mediators with “great national responsibility” and will respond after completing internal consultations.

In a statement, the group said that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a genuine prisoner exchange, a serious path of reconstruction, and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.

Earlier on Monday, broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that Hamas had rejected Israel’s demand to disarm as a condition for a ceasefire.

Al Jazeera cited an unnamed senior Hamas official as saying the group had received a new ceasefire proposal from Egypt, but the mediators made clear that no agreement with Israel would be possible unless Hamas agrees to disarm.

“Our negotiating delegation was surprised that the proposal Egypt conveyed included an explicit text regarding the disarmament of the resistance,” the official told Al Jazeera, adding that Hamas’s weapons were “not subject to discussion.”

Israel and Hamas are currently negotiating a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in indirect talks, after efforts to extend a temporary truce failed. Egypt, Qatar and the United States are mediating the talks.

As diplomatic efforts continue, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric called for the immediate release of all hostages and a renewed halt to the fighting.

“Civilians must be respected and protected at all times and they must have the basic necessities to survive,” Dujarric said in a statement.

“All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.

“A ceasefire must be restored and renewed without delay.”

Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on 18 March, blaming Hamas for the deadlocked negotiations and effectively shattering a fragile ceasefire that had been in place since mid-January.

Six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City, a local hospital said on Monday.

The bodies of the six men, who were family members, were recovered from the wreckage of the house in the eastern suburb of Tuffah after the attack, staff at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said.

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In response to an enquiry, the Israeli military said it would look into the report.

The war in Gaza began on 7 October, 2023, when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and allied factions launched the worst attack on Israel in its history, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 250 others.

Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 50,983 people, according to the Hamas-run health authority.

The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the majority of those killed are said to be women and children.

(spa/NAN)