Saudi report: Hamas rejects hostage-ceasefire deal proposal without clear guarantee war will end

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Demonstrators call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, June 5, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Demonstrators call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, June 5, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)

A Saudi outlet reports that Hamas officials rejected the proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal, claiming it was fundamentally different from the deal presented by US President Joe Biden.

Hamas distributed a document to other Palestinian groups rejecting Israel’s latest proposal, the Asharq News outlet reports, after viewing a copy of the memorandum.

The document says that Israel’s offer “does not guarantee a permanent ceasefire,” and allows Israel to recover “the prisoners that interest it, then it resumes the war of extermination against our people.”

According to Asharq, Hamas says that it initially welcomed Biden’s proposal “because it provides the necessary foundations to reach an agreement that achieves a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, the flow of large amounts of aid, the return of the displaced, reconstruction, and the exchange of prisoners.”

Meanwhile, Hamas sources tell the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat that the terror group wants clear guarantees that the war will end.

“Israel is manipulating. They want a temporary truce, then the war will resume… They use ambiguous texts that are open to interpretation,” a source says.

It should be noted that this did not appear to be a formal rejection of the proposal by the terror group.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that he will not accept any hostage deal that prevents Israel from completing its war aim of eliminating Hamas, which orchestrated the October 7 onslaught that killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.

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