Hamas receives Israel's response to its ceasefire proposal, says 'studying' it

Negotiations remain deadlocked, with Hamas sticking to its demands that any agreement must end war

CAIRO:

Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel's official response to its latest ceasefire proposal and will study it before submitting its reply, the group's deputy Gaza chief said in a statement.

"Hamas has received today the official response of the Zionist occupation to the proposal presented to the Egyptian and the Qatari mediators on April 13," Khalil Al-Hayya, who is currently based in Qatar, said in a statement published by the group.

After more than six months of Israel's war in Gaza, the negotiations remain deadlocked, with Hamas sticking to its demands that any agreement must end the war.

An Egyptian delegation visited Israel for discussion with Israeli officials on Friday, looking for a way to restart talks to end the conflict and return remaining Israeli settlers taken captive when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli-occupied towns on October 7, an official briefed on the meetings said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel had no new proposals to make. Although, it was willing to consider a limited truce in which 33 hostages would be released by Hamas, instead of the 40 previously under discussion.

On Thursday, the United States and 17 other countries appealed to Hamas to release all of its hostages as a pathway to end the crisis.

Read Hamas 'committed' to captive release if Israel agrees to lasting ceasefire

Hamas has vowed not to relent to international pressure but in a statement it issued on Friday it said it was "open to any ideas or proposals that take into account the needs and rights of our people".

However, it stuck to its key demands that Israel has rejected and criticized the joint statement issued by the US and others for not calling for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday he saw fresh momentum in talks to end the war and return the remaining hostages.

Citing two Israeli officials, Axios reported that Israel told the Egyptian mediators on Friday that it was ready to give hostage negotiations "one last chance" to reach a deal with Hamas before moving forward with an invasion of Rafah, the last refuge for around a million Palestinians who fled Israeli forces further north in Gaza earlier in the war.

Meanwhile, in Rafah, Palestinian health officials said an Israeli air strike on the house killed at least five people and wounded others.

Israel has killed more than 34,000 Gazans and injured at least 70,000 more since October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters raided into Palestinian land occupied by Israel. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israeli settlers, whereas 253 were taken captive.

Thousands of Gazans remain missing, suspected to have been buried under the rubble of buildings bombed by Israel.