Hamas claims it reached deal with Witkoff on ‘general framework’ for ceasefire, waiting ‘final response’

Hamas says it has reached an agreement with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on a “general framework” for a ceasefire deal and now awaits a “final response.”

Hamas says in a statement that the framework it has approved would secure a “permanent ceasefire,” the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid and a committee of independent Palestinian technocrats assuming governing control over the Strip instead of Hamas, once the agreement is announced.

The deal would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages along with an unspecified number of bodies of slain hostages in exchange for “an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, who are guaranteed by the mediators,” it says.

There are currently 58 hostages still in Gaza.

While the announcement is framed by Hamas as a breakthrough, it still indicates that a number of issues need to be negotiated, such as the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released.

Moreover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will only agree to a temporary ceasefire. He insists on resuming fighting in Gaza after any temporary truce, until Hamas is destroyed, all hostages are freed, and the Trump plan for Gazans’ relocation is implemented.

The Witkoff proposal previously put to Israel does not require a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces or a permanent end to the war, but rather provides for negotiations on those issues.

Hamas has been willing to agree to a temporary deal, but once that truce is in place, it has been demanding that negotiations commence on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

It has also been insisting on guarantees from the mediators that Israel will remain at the table for negotiations, after Jerusalem refused to engage substantively in such talks as required during the previous hostage deal reached in January.

Netanyahu has expressed openness to holding negotiations this time on a permanent ceasefire once a temporary truce is reached. However, Israel has pushed back on Hamas’ demands for guarantees from the mediators that Jerusalem be kept at the negotiation table, a senior Arab diplomat has told The Times of Israel.