A ceasefire proposal with Israel tabled by the administration of United States President Donald Trump is “still under discussion” by Hamas, but in its current form will only result in “the continuation of killing and famine” in Gaza, an official from the Palestinian group has said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Israel had “signed off” on the ceasefire proposal, and the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had submitted it to Hamas for consideration.
Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim told the Reuters news agency that the deal “does not meet any of our people’s demands, foremost among them, halting the war”.
“Nonetheless, the movement’s leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility,” Naim added.
Hamas will respond on Friday or Saturday, a source from the Palestinian group told Reuters.
The details of the new proposal have not been made public, but senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that, crucially, it did not contain commitments from Israel to end its war on Gaza, withdraw Israeli troops from the enclave, or allow aid to freely enter the war-torn territory.
Citing a draft copy, Reuters said the proposal outlined an initial 60-day ceasefire. Twenty-eight Israeli hostages, alive and dead, would be released in the first week in exchange for the release of 125 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.
The plan, reportedly guaranteed by President Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, would also see aid sent to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs.
The Israeli government has not publicly confirmed that it approved the latest proposal.
Reports in Israeli media this week suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of captives still held in Gaza that he is prepared to move forward with Witkoff’s temporary ceasefire proposal.
Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst, told Al Jazeera it was “unusual” for Israel to come out and agree to a proposal first, and that Netanyahu may be betting on the plan being impossible for Hamas to accept so that he can paint them as the “bad guys” and continue the war.
“It happened before… and Netanyahu put the blame on them,” Eldar said.
Conflicting reports
Attempts to restore a ceasefire in Gaza have been scuppered by deep differences on conditions for ending the conflict, including Israel’s demand that Hamas completely disarm, and the Palestinian group’s demand that Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.
Reports of this latest proposal follow conflicting reports earlier this week, when Hamas claimed it had reached an understanding for a ceasefire “general framework” with Witkoff and only awaited a “final response”.
“We have reached an agreement on a general framework with Witkoff that ensures a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid,” the group said in a statement.
The agreement also reportedly included “the establishment of a professional committee to manage Gaza’s affairs once a ceasefire is declared”, according to the Hamas statement.
As part of the deal, Trump would also reportedly guarantee that a ceasefire would be established within 60 days and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Witkoff, however, later denied that these were the terms of any deal he had proposed, telling Reuters that what he had seen was “completely unacceptable”.
An anonymous US official close to Witkoff also rejected the claim, telling Al Jazeera that the group’s claims were “inaccurate” and “disappointing”. Israel also dismissed the claim, with one unnamed official calling the statement “psychological warfare” and “propaganda” in comments to The Times of Israel.
Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18, after breaking a six-week temporary ceasefire, with Netanyahu announcing that fighting had resumed with “full force”.
The months since have seen the Israeli military resume its relentless assault across Gaza, killing close to 4,000 people since breaking the truce and propelling the overall death toll in the enclave to more than 54,000, according to health authorities in Gaza.
Israel has also imposed a deadly, months-long blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Palestinian enclave, which UN officials say has pushed the population to the brink of famine.
Israel partially lifted its blockade on May 19, allowing a trickle of aid to enter Gaza, but United States Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described it as a mere “teaspoon” of what is needed.
There were chaotic scenes this week as crowds of starving Palestinians attempted to reach life-saving supplies distributed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a new and controversial group that said it would deliver aid in the besieged enclave.
