Hamas has publicly rejected publicly an Israeli proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reiterating that it is opposed to any truce agreement which does not lead to the end of the war launched by the attack of the terrorist group of October 2023 and the withdrawal of the forces of Israel from the enclave.
A source from Hamas told AFP that the terrorist organization had also sent a written response to the mediators of Israel’s last proposal for a 45-day ceasefire on Thursday. Israel had asked for the release of 10 living hostages held by the terrorist group, according to Hamas.
The proposal also included the release of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners of Israeli prisons and the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. He also called on Hamas to disarm to ensure a complete end of war, a request that the terrorist group rejects.
The head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, currently outside the enclave, said in a television speech that Hamas will not be “part of the policy of (Prime Minister Benjamin) of Netanyahu on partial agreements”.
“We will not be part of the success of this policy.”
He added that Israel had abandoned the cease-fire agreement she signed in January and that Netanyahu set “impossible” conditions.
The troops of the Golani de Tsahal brigade are seen operating in the Morag corridor area of the Gaza Strip, in a document photo issued by the soldiers on April 17, 2025. (Israeli defense forces)
Al-Hayya, who is the chief negotiator of Hamas, also said that the mediators had to contact Hamas to resolve the crisis which, according to him, had been created by Israel.
He said Hamas was ready to immediately negotiate an agreement to exchange all hostages with an agreed number of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel as part of an agreement that would end the war.
“Hamas’ comments demonstrate that they are not interested in peace but perpetual violence. The terms established by the Trump administration have not changed: release the hostages or face hell,” said the spokesman for the American National Security Council James Hewitt in response.
Israel and Hamas signed a progressive cease-fire contract in January which collapsed after its first stage. Hamas wanted to move on to the second phase as planned in the agreement, but Israel sought to rework the terms to release additional hostages without engaging in a permanent end of the fighting, as envisaged in the second phase. After Hamas refused, Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18.
Netanyahu has long refused to end the war until the military and governing capacities of Hamas have been dismantled. He is supported by many of his partners in the Hardline coalition who have threatened to collapse his government if he agrees to end the war.
However, successive surveys have indicated that the government is out of step with the majority of Israelis, who end the conflict if necessary in exchange for the release of all the remaining hostages.
The hostage families and their supporters protest against the release of captives held in Gaza, outside the home of the Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, in Jerusalem, on April 13, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg / Flash90)
Responding to the announcement of Al-Hayya on Thursday, the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, promised that Israel would not give in to Hamas or would end the war in Gaza without accomplishing a “complete victory” and returning all the hostages.
“The time has come to open the doors of hell on Hamas, to deepen the fighting to the complete occupation of the band, the elimination of Hamas and the implementation of (American) (Donald) Trump, the plan of the voluntary exit and the rehabilitation of the Gazans in another country,” he wrote on X.
The chief of the far -right coalition of coalition, the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, called on Israel to increase military pressure in Gaza “until Hamas is on his knees.
“Hamas will not define the conditions, it will surrender to them! No agreement, no ceasefire and no help, only the continuation of the war until the surrender of the Nazis of Gaza,” said Ben Gvir.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists led by Hamas invaded southern Israel of the strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages in the midst of acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Terrorist groups of the Gaza Strip still hold 59 hostages. Twenty-four hostages would be alive, while 35 were confirmed dead by the FDI. Among these is the body of a soldier killed in 2014.
