GAZA CITY, Oct 31 — A Hamas official said yesterday that the group would discuss any ideas for a Gaza ceasefire that included an Israeli withdrawal, but had not officially received any comprehensive proposals.
“We have not officially received any comprehensive proposal. We are prepared to engage with any ideas or proposals presented to us, provided they ultimately lead to an end to the war and a withdrawal by the army from the (Gaza) Strip,” the official told AFP.
The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing truce efforts to push an agenda of “genocide, ethnic cleansing and displacement” made possible by the absence of US pressure.
“We have told the mediators that Hamas is ready if (Israel) agrees to a proposal for a ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, return of displaced people to their homes in Gaza including the north, entry of sufficient aid for our people and a serious prisoner exchange deal,” he said, referring to ceasefire conditions Hamas has repeatedly brought to negotiations.
He said that Egypt and Qatar continue to work as mediators in consultations between Hamas and Israel.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant meanwhile told troops in Gaza that they must apply military pressure to guarantee the return of hostages held in the Palestinian territory for over a year.
“The central issue here is to continue exerting as much pressure on Hamas as possible, in order to create the conditions necessary to ensure the return of the hostages,” his office reported him saying, suggesting Israel is pushing its advantage to guarantee better ceasefire conditions.
‘Short-term’ truce
On Tuesday evening, Hamas had confirmed in a statement that some meetings had been held regarding the mediators’ request to discuss “new proposals for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange”.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced he had not received a proposal for a two-day truce and hostage release deal.
He said Israel “has not received a proposal for the release of four hostages in return for a 48-hour ceasefire in Gaza. If such a proposal had been raised, the prime minister would have accepted it immediately,” his office said in a statement.
The statement was referring to a proposal revealed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been trying for months to negotiate a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to allow a prisoner swap, aid access and talks on longer-term peace.
Israel’s spy chief David Barnea, CIA director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani held their latest round of talks in Doha on Sunday and Monday.
They focussed on a “short-term” truce of “less than a month”, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Wednesday
“US officials believe that if a short-term deal can be reached, it could lead to a more permanent agreement,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. — AFP
