2024-04-27 20:55:52
Khalil al-Hayya, a leader in the Hamas movement, said in a statement that the movement had received Israel’s official response to its position regarding the ceasefire talks, adding that it would study the proposal before announcing its response.
The statement said: “Today, the Hamas movement received the official occupation’s response to the movement’s position, which was delivered to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13. It will study this proposal, and upon completion of its study, it will deliver its response.”
The American news website Axios quoted Israeli officials on Friday as saying that Israel is ready to give the truce negotiations a “last chance” to reach an agreement with Hamas.
He said that the Israeli delegation informed Egypt that if progress was not made soon in the negotiations, Israel would proceed with a ground invasion of Rafah, according to senior Israeli officials.
An Egyptian delegation met with Israeli officials on Friday to discuss ways to resume talks to end the war in Gaza and return the remaining hostages.
The Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted an official familiar with the meetings as saying, “Israel has no new proposals to present.”
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the Israeli leadership “is ready to consider a temporary truce in which 33 hostages would be released, instead of the 40 hostages that were previously under discussion.”
He continued: “There are currently no talks regarding hostages between Israel and Hamas, and there is no new Israeli offer in this regard.”
He pointed out that “what is happening is an attempt by Egypt to resume talks with an Egyptian proposal that includes the release of 33 women, elderly and infirm hostages.”
Israeli intelligence officials believe that 33 hostages, including women, the elderly and the sick, are still alive in Gaza.
The official revealed that no decision has been made about how long the truce will last, adding: “If such an exchange is agreed upon, the cessation of fighting will certainly be less than 6 weeks.”
As the war continued and losses increased, international pressures mounted on Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement on a ceasefire.
Hamas confirmed that it will not back down from its demand for a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, which Tel Aviv rejects.
Israel says it will continue its military operations until Hamas is defeated and that it will maintain a security presence in Gaza after that.
On the other hand, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted the French Foreign Ministry as saying that there was progress in the talks regarding the Paris proposal to reduce the escalation between Lebanon and Israel.
Last updated: April 27, 2024 – 17:28
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2024-04-27 20:55:52