Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal drawn up by Egypt and Qatar; Israel does not agree, says agency | World

The terrorist group Hamas stated this Monday (6) that accepted a ceasefire proposal drawn up by the Egypt and Qatar –the two countries are mediating negotiations on an agreement between the Palestinians and the Israeli government, who are at war in the Gaza Strip.

According to Reuters, a security authority Israel stated that the terms of the agreement were softened by the Egypt and that you cannot accept it. He said that apparently O Hamas would have accepted the ceasefire so that the Israelis would be seen as the party that refuses to compromise.

However, a mediating official said the ceasefire agreement accepted by Hamas is the text proposed by Israel on April 27, without major changes.

The information that Hamas accepted the terms was initially released by the Al Jazeera network, and later confirmed by the Reuters news agency.

Hamas said in a statement that the group’s head, Ismail Haniyeh, informed the Qatari prime minister and the head of Egypt’s intelligence department that he accepted the proposal drawn up by the two countries. There are still no details of what the agreement provides.

The spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the country is still studying how it will respond, but that for now they will continue operating in Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands” but that it would still send negotiators to Egypt to continue talks on a ceasefire agreement.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the country is “examining” Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal and will discuss it with allies in the Middle East in the coming hours.

The US is Israel’s biggest ally and has been shielding the country led by Netanyahu since the start of the war, but the American government has warned several times that it is against an attack on the city without a humanitarian plan for the refugees.

The deputy leader of Hamas said that, under the proposal, There will be three phases of the agreement, each lasting 42 days. He did not provide further information, but, according to news about the negotiations in recent days, the text contains a rule that determines that, at each stage, the parties will decide whether the terms are being fulfilled. If they verify that the other side is respecting the agreement, they move on to the next phase.

Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas official, told Reuters that the text envisages a ceasefire, reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the return of people who had to leave their homes and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israelis kidnapped by the terrorist group that they are still hostages. The next step would be to go to Cairo, Egypt, to discuss the agreement.

Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal drawn up by Egypt and Qatar

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israeli territory, killed 1,200 people and kidnapped around 250 – it is believed that today there are still around 130 Israeli hostages taken to the Gaza Strip.

According to health authorities in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, almost 35,000 Palestinians have died since then and 77,000 have been injured.

Earlier this Monday, the Army of Israel called on Palestinians to begin leaving the city of Rafah, in the far south of Gaza Stripwhere he intends to make an incursion by land. According to Hamas, Israeli troops carried out the first bombings in the east of the city, considered the last refuge for residents of the Palestinian territory.

Israel carries out first bombings in eastern Rafah

In a statement on social media, Israel asked residents to leave the eastern region of Rafah and head to Al-Mawasi, a neighboring city, also in the Gaza Strip, where Israel said it had created a humanitarian zone with field hospitals, tents, food and water.

The local government, controlled by Hamas, stated that Israeli troops carried out the first bombings on the city, in the eastern part, this Monday. Israel had not commented until the last update of this report.

For weeks, the Israeli Armed Forces have been preparing to enter Rafah, where Israel claims that Hamas has its last stronghold within the Gaza Strip. However, the city, on the border with Egypt, is also considered the last refuge for Palestinians who fled their cities in the north, center and even south of the country during the war.

Currently, around 1.5 million Palestinians, more than half of the total population of the Gaza Strip, are in the city.

The international community has been putting strong pressure on Israel to abandon the idea of ​​entering Rafah. Last week, however, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his intention to carry out operations in the city.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed that the evacuation they requested this Monday is “limited in scope”. The idea, according to the Israeli Army, is that 100,000 people located in the east will move.

According to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, military action there would be necessary due to Hamas’ refusal to release hostages as part of proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza.