Hamas rejects any hostage deal that doesn’t end war, despite mediators’ efforts
As Qatari interlocutors reportedly try to coax terror group back to negotiating table with various short-term ceasefire offers, senior official says demands haven’t changed
Hamas on Thursday rejected any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza and reiterated its insistence on a lasting ceasefire, as American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators tried to coax the Palestinian terror group back to the negotiating table.
“The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.
Mediators seeking to broker a Gaza ceasefire were expected to present Hamas with a proposal for a truce of less than a month, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Wednesday.
The proposal was discussed during meetings in Doha between Mossad head David Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns, and Qatar’s prime minister, which concluded on Monday, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.
The source echoed reports in Hebrew media that the latest proposal involves exchanging several hostages kidnapped during Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, massacre for Palestinian security prisoners and increasing aid to Gaza.
According to the reports in Hebrew media, the Mossad chief presented Qatari interlocutors with a proposal for the release of 11-14 hostages from Gaza in exchange for around 100 Palestinian security prisoners from Israel, along with a monthlong pause in fighting in the Strip.
All of the remaining women and children held by the terror group would reportedly be among the hostages that would be released in the deal.
“US officials believe that if a short-term deal can be reached, it could lead to a more permanent agreement,” the source said.
Nunu said Hamas had not received any proposal so far, adding that if the terror group were to receive such a plan, it would respond.
However, he reiterated the demands the group has been insisting on for months — “a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from Gaza, the return of displaced people, sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza and a serious prisoner exchange deal.”
According to the earlier reports, the proposal does not demand a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip nor a complete end to the fighting — both of which have been sticking points in previous rounds of failed negotiations, as Hamas has insisted it will agree to nothing less.
Qatar was also reportedly set to present Hamas with two other short-term truce proposals — an offer put forward by Egyptian mediators for a two-day ceasefire to exchange four Israeli hostages for some Palestinian prisoners, and another drawn up by Moscow for the release of two hostages with Russian citizenship.
The Hamas official’s comments come as Qatari mediators were reportedly meeting with Hamas leaders in Doha to discuss whether or not the terror group is willing to return to the negotiating table.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
