Hamas on Monday appeared to renege on a deal that would have freed Israeli hostages in return for a four-month ceasefire designed to buy time to come up with a plan to end the war, a new report said.
Senior officials from Palestinian terror groups appeared to jumpstart peace proposals negotiated in Paris over the weekend, saying they wanted a “complete and comprehensive ceasefire” before anything else was agreed, according to the Times of Israel.
The stance came just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the latest talks between international mediators and terrorists as “constructive”.
Representatives from the US – including CIA director William J. Burns – Israel, and Egypt met over the weekend with Qatar’s prime minister to discuss their latest peace proposal, which calls for a four-month ceasefire, the Wall Street Journal said.
During the first six weeks of the ceasefire, women and children hostages and elderly people will be released from Hamas in return for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners and allowing aid to Gaza, according to the Journal.
Israeli police officers at the Kerem Shalom Crossing to Gaza monitor supplies passing through. Getty Images
Female members of the Israel Defense Forces held by Hamas will then be released, followed by male soldiers, then finally human remains.
The deal included assurances for Hamas that the US and other international leaders would work out a four-month deal to end the war, the Journal reported.
In the weeks since Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages in an October 7 attack on Israel, leaders in the Jewish state have vowed not to stop until the terror group is completely eradicated.
Israeli officials told the Journal that the country is “fully committed to freeing all hostages and destroying Hamas” and will “continue to do whatever is possible to secure the release of all hostages.”
Smoke billows from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces have focused in recent weeks. Reuters
The current plan is just the latest in a round of ceasefires and peace talks that have been proposed since the conflict began.
Just last week, talks on a month-long truce in exchange for hostages and prisoners broke down after Hamas refused to continue talks unless Israeli forces first fully withdraw from Gaza, where the Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 25,000 people have been killed.
A few days earlier, Hamas said, “There is no chance of returning the prisoners” after the two sides reached an impasse.
A ceasefire was successfully reached for a week in November, which resulted in the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners before hostilities resumed.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
