The US state department said on Monday that Hamas had rejected a proposal for a short-term ceasefire and hostage release deal, reports Times of Israel.
The US state department indicates that the Hamas was refusing to budge from its key demand for a permanent withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip even after the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar last month.
The rejection has reportedly led Israeli negotiators to warn Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that unless he shows some flexibility in negotiations, a deal will remain unattainable.
The revelation that the Hamas group had rejected a proposal drawn up by Egypt for a temporary ceasefire was made in a US readout issued on secretary of state Antony Blinken’s call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Blinken “noted that Hamas has once again refused to release even a limited number of hostages to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” the readout stated.
Egypt had put forth a proposal that would have begun with an initial 48-hour ceasefire during which Hamas would have prepared for the release of four Israeli hostages over the next 10 days, two Arab diplomats told the media.
The four hostages were to fall under the humanitarian category, meaning they were to be either women, elderly, or sick.
In exchange, Israel was to release roughly 100 Palestinian security prisoners, the diplomats said, and Israel and Hamas would have held talks throughout the 12-day deal about a more long-lasting ceasefire.
But Hamas made clear that it would only agree to a short-term deal that includes guarantees for a longer-term one, and the Egyptian proposal stopped short of such an assurance, given Israel’s refusal to agree.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recorded just last week saying he would not agree to end the war in exchange for the remaining 101 hostages, as he faces pressure from far-right coalition partners to continue fighting in Gaza.
Despite Hamas’s rejection of Cairo’s proposal, a diplomat familiar with the matter told the media that discussions were still ongoing and that mediators were still trying to broker an agreement.
The diplomat said all options were on the table to try and secure a deal, and that the sides were watching to see the results of the US presidential elections on Tuesday to determine how to respond.
A separate proposal for a short-term ceasefire put forward by Doha last week has yet to receive a response from Hamas.
Bd-Pratidin English/ Afsar Munna
