CAIRO– Hamas said on Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt stepped up efforts to negotiate a deal to end the months-long war and prevent a possible Israeli ground offensive in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
A senior Hamas official, Khalil al-Hayya, said the Palestinian militant group was evaluating Israel’s proposal and “once its study is completed, it will present its response.”
He did not give details about Israel’s offer, but said it was in response to a Hamas proposal two weeks ago. Negotiations earlier this month centered on a proposed six-week ceasefire and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The Hamas statement came hours after a high-level Egyptian delegation concluded a visit to Israel where it discussed a “new vision” for a prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developments.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel’s latest response to Hamas about a ceasefire was directly related to Friday’s visit to Tel Aviv by Egyptian mediators.
Discussions between Egyptian and Israeli officials focused on the first stage of a multi-phase plan that would include a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza. . “With minimal restrictions,” the Egyptian official said.
Mediators are working on a compromise that will answer most of the main demands of both sides, which could pave the way for continued negotiations with the goal of reaching a broader agreement to end the war, the official said. .
As the war drags on and casualties mount, international pressure has increased for Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and prevent a possible Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of the 2.3 Millions of Gazans have sought refuge after fleeing fighting in other parts of the territory.
Israel has been insisting for months that it plans a ground offensive in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where it says many of the remaining Hamas militants are located, despite calls for restraint from the international community, including ally Israel’s strongest, the United States.
Egypt has warned that an offensive in Rafah could have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as regional peace and security.
The Israeli army has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in southern Israel near Rafah and has attacked targets in the city with almost daily airstrikes.
Early Saturday, an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, killing six people, including four children, according to officials at a local hospital.
The attack killed a man, his wife and their three children, ages 12, 10 and 8, according to records from the Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital morgue. A neighbor’s four-month-old daughter was also killed, records show.
Hamas said Friday that it is open to any “ideas or suggestions” that take into account the needs of the Palestinian people, such as an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza, the return of displaced people to their homes and an Israeli withdrawal.
The Palestinian group has said it will not back down on its demands for a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops, both of which Israel has rejected.
Israel says it will continue military operations until Hamas is defeated and then maintain a security presence in Gaza.
Hamas sparked the war with its attack on southern Israel on October 1. 7, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 people hostage. Israel says the militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Since then, 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, about two-thirds of them children and women.
Israel has reported that at least 260 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of ground operations in Gaza.
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Uprising reported from Bangkok