Hamas leaders announce the possibility of a response on Thursday to the ceasefire proposal

The Associated Press news agency, citing a statement sent by Hamas, said that leaders of the Palestinian movement are studying the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and are working to respond to it by tomorrow, Thursday.

According to the American agency, the current round of discussions appears more serious than previous ones over the past months, but the two parties still do not agree on whether the new agreement will include ending the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas leadership said that it is working to reach an agreement that would lead to an end to Israeli military operations in Gaza, the delivery of humanitarian aid to its residents, and the beginning of the reconstruction of the devastated Strip, in addition to the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

The agency, citing an Egyptian official familiar with the proposal, said that Israel had offered a prolonged cessation of fighting in Gaza and a withdrawal of its forces from the Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his determination to invade the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday.

Blinken, in turn, said that Israel had made new “important” concessions in order to reach a ceasefire, adding that Hamas must now take advantage of the opportunity to conclude the agreement.

Blinken’s statements came after his discussions with Netanyahu during his seventh visit to the Middle East since the outbreak of war in Gaza last October.

Israel has made very important concessions. Hamas has to decide whether it will accept the agreement and actually work to improve the situation of the people it claims to care about in Gaza,” Blinken said. He added: “There is no time for more bargaining…the agreement is there. 

The deputy head of Hamas has said that Israel’s official response to the latest ceasefire proposal has been received and will be reviewed before responding. 

According to the Reuters news agency, Khalil al-Hiya, the deputy head of Hamas based in Qatar, said in a statement that Hamas today received an official response from the Zionist occupation to the proposal that was presented to Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13.  

After more than six months of war with Israel in Gaza, negotiations have stalled. Hamas still stands by its demands that an end to the war is essential for any deal.

 An Egyptian delegation visited Israel on Friday for talks with Israeli officials aimed at ending the conflict and resuming talks for the return of other hostages taken by Hamas fighters on October 7, an official said. Looking for a way to do it. 

The authorities said Israel had no new proposals but was open to considering a limited ceasefire in which Hamas would release 33 hostages instead of 40.

 Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children. More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have taken refuge in Rafah.