Bassem Naim, Hamas’ head of political and international relations, confirmed to The Hill that Hamas had informed him that it had accepted a ceasefire offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been working intensively for weeks on a proposed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Israel announced on Monday that it would send a delegation to negotiate a temporary ceasefire, but said “Hamas’ proposal falls far short of what Israel needs,” according to a Hebrew-language statement from the prime minister’s office. .
At the same time, Israel’s wartime cabinet unanimously decided on Monday to continue military operations against Hamas targets in Rafah.
The Biden administration has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn him against launching an attack on Rafah and has expressed alarm at Hamas’ response to the ceasefire.
“We want to rescue the hostages, we want to achieve a six-week ceasefire, we want to scale up humanitarian assistance, and we absolutely do not want to say anything from this platform that will jeopardize that process. White House National Security John Kirby, Assistant Secretary for Security Public Affairs, said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
The administration insists a temporary ceasefire is the best way to secure the release of Israeli hostages and protect the more than 1 million Palestinians sheltered in Rafah.
The main thrust of the agreement is a six- to eight-week cessation of fighting in order to release the Israeli hostages Hamas has held since they were abducted from Israel on October 7. The release of hostages will take place in stages. The most vulnerable of the 133 people believed to be in Gaza were the first to be released.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
