A senior Hamas leader says Egypt has put forward a ceasefire and hostage release proposal, but that it does not include anything new and that the terror group will not back down from any of its previous demands, days after an Israeli negotiating team returned from Cairo having drawn up the updated draft.
The unnamed official charges that the US and Egyptian mediators wanted to keep the ceasefire process alive despite their conviction that there was a wide gap between Israel and Hamas, but said that nevertheless, a new round of talks may be held in Cairo next week, ahead of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
“The Hamas leadership informed the Egyptian and Qatari mediators that what is being offered cannot be accepted, as it is a continuation of the stubborn Israeli position,” he adds.
Earlier, Hamas politburo official Osama Hamdan said in a press conference from Beirut that there has been no progress in Gaza ceasefire talks despite the Palestinian terror group showing flexibility.
It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 11 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 4, 2024
