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Cairo/Tel Aviv: Hamas said it had responded on Friday in “a positive spirit” to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal and was prepared to enter into talks on implementing the deal, which envisages a release of hostages and negotiations on ending the conflict.
In a statement on its official website, Hamas said it was “fully prepared” to enter negotiations “in all seriousness”.
Palestinians survey the destruction at a school used as a shelter after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.Credit: AP
US President Donald Trump had earlier announced a “final proposal” for a 60-day ceasefire in the almost 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from both sides in the coming hours.
The BBC reported that the plan is thought to involve the staggered release of 10 Israeli hostages by Hamas and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
In a sign of potential challenges to come, a Palestinian official of a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt and clarity over a timetable of Israeli troop withdrawals.
A senior Hamas source told the BBC that the group had also requested a guarantee from the US that fighting would not resume if talks on a permanent end to hostilities failed, a demand which has previously been a sticking point between the two sides.
Last week, Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalise” a 60-day ceasefire, during which efforts would be made to end the US ally’s war in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement and in their public statements, the two sides remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media cited an Israeli official as saying that Israel was studying Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
An Egyptian security official told Reuters that Egypt, which is mediating ceasefire efforts along with Qatar, had seen Hamas’ response and said it included “positive signs that an agreement is near, but there are some demands from Hamas that need to be worked on”.
Trump has said he would be “very firm” with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza ceasefire, while noting the Israeli leader wants one as well.
“We hope it’s going to happen. And we’re looking forward to it happening sometime next week,” he told reporters earlier this week. “We want to get the hostages out.”
Israeli attacks have killed at least 138 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local health officials said on Saturday, AEST.
Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Thursday.Credit: AP
Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
On Friday, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight.
“There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,” said 13-year-old Mayar al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was shot dead in another incident, she told Reuters.
The Israeli military said troops operating in the Khan Younis area had eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas outposts in the last 24 hours, while striking 100 targets across Gaza, including military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers.
In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US embassy building on American Independence Day, calling on Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives.
Demonstrators set up a symbolic Sabbath dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
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Hamas responds to US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal in ‘a positive spirit’ – The Sydney Morning Herald
