Hamas promises answer to Israeli truce proposal ‘very soon’ amid intense mediation
Terror group said to ask mediators to clarify some details of offer as diplomats scramble to narrow gaps between sides, particularly on whether deal would end Gaza war
Israel, international mediators and others were waiting Wednesday for the Hamas terror group’s response to the Jewish state’s latest proposal for a hostage deal, with diplomats from various countries scrambling to narrow the significant gaps regarding the terms of the deal, including whether and to what extent it would spell the end of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, told AFP on Wednesday that the group would “deliver its response clearly within a very short period,” although he would not say precisely when that was expected to happen.
The Israeli government, which conveyed its latest offer to Hamas through Egyptian mediators late last week, is expecting a response Wednesday evening, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
However, AFP cited a second source with knowledge of the negotiations as saying Qatari mediators expected a response from Hamas in one or two days. And an Egyptian official close to the talks said Hamas was still seeking clarifications on the terms of the proposal.
Multiple reports, including one by the Lebanese news outlet al-Akhbar on Wednesday, have indicated that Israel’s offer would see at least 33 civilian and sick hostages released in the first phase, followed by later stages that would establish a sustainable calm and possible full withdrawal of IDF troops.
The first stage of the deal, to last 40 days, reportedly involves a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the Strip in order to allow the movement of humanitarian aid and the return of civilians to their homes.
The deal would reportedly entail Israel releasing many hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.
Even if Hamas accepts the deal unconditionally, it isn’t clear whether Israel will approve it. Far-right coalition parties have repeatedly slammed it as surrender to the terror group’s demands and as an abandonment of the initial war goal of eliminating Hamas’s governing capabilities in Gaza, and they have openly threatened to topple the government if it is approved.
They are demanding an imminent offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, which has been promised by the government for several months.
Hamas’s Hindi, speaking to AFP by phone from an undisclosed location, said it was premature to say whether the group’s envoys, who have returned from talks in Cairo to their base in Qatar, felt any progress was made.
He stressed the aim was “to reach an end to this war” and that any ceasefire must be permanent — a nonstarter for Israel, whose advocates have noted that there was a permanent ceasefire in place when Hamas launched its October 7 onslaught, in which some 1,200 were murdered in Israel, mostly civilians, and 253 were kidnapped into Gaza amid rampant sexual violence and acts of horrific brutality.
An Egyptian official said Wednesday that Hamas had asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to provide clarity on the terms of the truce proposal.
The official, who has close ties to the talks and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the deal, said Hamas wants clear terms for the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and to ensure that the second stage of the deal will include discussing the gradual and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip.
The official said the current deal didn’t fully explain who would be allowed to return north and how it would be decided.
It was not clear if Hamas’s demand for clarity would delay progress on the deal that could be emerging.
Hindi said there was “great interest” from Hamas and other factions to end the war, but he stressed that this “will not be at any cost.”
“Hamas is open to any dialogue with mediators, whether Egyptian or Qatari, and is also open to all initiatives to end the war on the Palestinian people, but within very clear conditions that cannot be abandoned.”
The Palestinians, who “have endured and persevered for more than 200 days, cannot under any circumstances raise the white flag or surrender to the conditions of the Israeli enemy,” he said. “Our dignity and honor refuse to compromise.”
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on Wednesday diplomats were still working to secure a truce, but declined to say how optimistic he was of a deal being concluded or give details of where the negotiation stood..
Sejourne was updated on the negotiations by Egyptian officials when he made an unscheduled stop in Cairo after a five-day tour of the region, which included stopovers in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“We came to coordinate our efforts for a truce. The messages given by France and its Arab partners in the region is that Israel pulls back on this offensive in Rafah,” Sejourne said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri.
Sejourne said he had also told Egyptian officials that it was important to put a French proposal to defuse conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group high on the agenda in case a Gaza truce is reached.
The French minister, who met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, said the truce would only be a first step towards a long-term ceasefire.
But Netanyahu told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday that he would not accept an end to the war in Gaza as part of a potential hostage deal, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
Blinken, who has publicly urged Hamas to accept Israel’s “extraordinarily generous” offer, said Wednesday that “it is Hamas that is standing in the way of a ceasefire,” placing the blame squarely on the terror organization for the failure to reach a hostage deal since November.
Netanyahu also told Blinken during their meeting in Jerusalem that a hostage deal with Hamas does not mean an assault on Rafah would be avoided, the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel. The southern Gaza city is thought to contain Hamas’s last major redoubts, and Israeli officials insist that toppling Hamas is impossible without tackling the city.
“The Rafah operation does not depend on anything,” said the PMO. “Prime Minister Netanyahu made this clear to Secretary Blinken.”
The US has urged Israel not to launch its planned offensive on Rafah, where Hamas leadership and many of the hostages are believed to be held, but also where some 1.5 million civilians have been sheltering as the war has devastated the rest of the Strip.
Netanyahu said Tuesday that he remained intent on sending troops into Rafah, whether a deal is reached or not.
Israel has estimated that 129 of the hostages seized on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — following the November truce. Four hostages were released prior to that, and three were rescued alive by troops. The bodies of 12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military. The IDF has also confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still in captivity.
In addition to the hostages seized on October 7, Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Lazar Berman and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
