Israel dismisses Hamas ceasefire proposal for IDF to withdraw fully from Gaza
Terrorist group's political leader told Qatar and Egypt it proposed to release 33 Israeli hostages in the first phase but would not compromise on its core demands
Israel dismissed a last-minute ceasefire proposal by Hamas on Monday evening, saying it was far from meeting its demands.
Hamas political leader Ishmail Haniyeh told Qatar and Egypt that it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal which would lead to the release of 33 Israeli hostages in the first phase.
For each civilian Israeli hostage released alive, “Israel would release 30 Palestinians it has detained. For every female soldier released by Hamas, Israel would release 50 Palestinians,” according to the ceasefire text released by Al Jazeera.
The second phase would lead to a “permanent end to military operations and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. There would also be another prisoner swap, this time involving all the remaining Israeli men, including soldiers held captive in Gaza. The Israelis would be released in return for an as-yet unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.”
The last phase would involve a “three- to-five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza”.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed those demands, calling them “delusional” as they would allow Hamas to maintain control over Gaza.
Israel’s war cabinet unanimously decided that the IDF will continue its operation in Rafah, “in order to apply military pressure on Hamas so as to advance the release of our hostages and achieve the other objectives of the war.”
“While the Hamas proposal is far from meeting Israel’s core demands, Israel will dispatch a ranking delegation to Egypt in an effort to maximise the possibility of reaching an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel,” the statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office read on Monday evening.
Hamas has refused to compromise on its core demands to end the war and remove Israel from Gaza, rejecting six ceasefire proposals in the last couple of months.
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