Hamas said on Saturday that it submitted its response to mediators regarding United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s proposal on a ceasefire and hostage release. “We have submitted our response that includes a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensuring the flow of aid to our people in Gaza,” the group said. Hamas agreed to release ten Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased hostages, but noted that the number of Palestinian prisoners to be freed should “be agreed upon.” Egyptian media reported that the group asked to release Israeli hostages in five stages, rather than two as suggested by the US. Israel reportedly already accepted the original proposal that would include a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which Hamas would hand over living and deceased hostages in return for 125 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,111 detained Gazans.
Israel said to see Hamas answer as deal rejection
Israel considers Hamas’ response to United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s proposal on a ceasefire and hostage release an “effective rejection” of the plan, The Times of Israel reported on Saturday, citing an unnamed Israeli official. Hamas said it submitted its response to the plan, stressing an agreement must aim to achieve “a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensuring the flow of aid to our people in Gaza.” According to some reports, the group also asked to release Israeli hostages in five stages, rather than two as suggested by the US. Israel’s lead negotiator and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer earlier accepted Witkoff’s initial proposal.
Witkoff: Hamas’ answer to proposal totally unacceptable
United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that Hamas’ response to his proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement was “totally unacceptable.” Witkoff added the move by the group “only takes us backward” and urged Hamas to “accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week.” The US official claimed that Hamas agreeing to this is the “only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.” Earlier in the day, Hamas submitted a response that reportedly included the release Israeli hostages in five stages and demands for a “permanent ceasefire.”