Hamas accepts the new proposal for the ceasefire of Gaza; Israel makes a counter offer

By Samy Magdy and Julia Frankel | Associated Press

CAIRO-The Hamas militant group said on Saturday that it had accepted a new Gaza cease-fire proposal to Egypt and Qatar mediators, but Israel said that it had made a “full coordination” counter-proposition with the third mediator, the United States.

Egypt at the beginning of the week made a proposal to put the distant cease-fire on the right track, after the resumption of the surprise of Israel of fighting. It was not immediately clear if the proposal changed before Khalil al-Hayyah, the head of Hamas in Gaza, announced that he had been accepted.

At the beginning of the week, an Egyptian official described the proposal to the Associated Press, claiming that Hamas would release five living hostages, including an American-Israeli, Gaza in exchange for Israel allowing aid on the territory and a weekly break in the fighting. Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The manager spoke under the cover of anonymity because they were not allowed in brief the media during the closed -door talks.

On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave no details on the counter-proposition of Israel, which was proposed after Netanyahu organized consultations on Friday.

Israel a week ago and half a week ago ended his ceasefire with Hamas by launching a wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. The White House blamed Hamas for renewed fights.

Israel has promised to degenerate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it holds – 24 of them that would be alive. Israel also wants Hamas to abandon power, disarm and send its leaders into exile. On Saturday, Israel expanded its operations on the ground in the southern city of Rafah de Gaza near the border with Egypt.

Hamas said that it would only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Frustrated by the threat of staying hostages in Gaza, families and others rallied on Saturday evening to call for an agreement that would bring everyone back home.

“The price of your war is the life of the hostages!” Some demonstrators sang in Tel Aviv. Minor scratches broke out with the police.

“War will not bring our hostages back to the house, it will kill them,” Naama Weinberg said, cousin of hostage deceased Itay Svirsky, to a weekly family gathering in Tel Aviv.

The war in Gaza was launched by the attack on October 7, 2023 of Hamas in Israel, in which Palestinian activists killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians and removed 251.

Israel’s reprisal offensive killed more than 50,000 people, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not say how much civilians or combatants were. The bombing of Israel and the ground operations caused great destruction and their size, it moved some 90% of the Gaza population of more than 2 million people.