Hamas rejected Israel’s proposal to release 10 hostages in exchange for 45 days of ceasefire on Thursday night.
“We will not accept partial deals that serve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s political agenda,” Hamas negotiating team head Khalil al-Hayya said in a statement, which the terror group claimed is based on the continuation of the war. “
Netanyahu’s partial agreements are a cover for his agenda based on continuing the annihilation, even at the cost of sacrificing his captives,” he said in the statement. “We welcome the position of the American envoy Adam Boehler to end the issue of the captives and the war together, which aligns with the movement’s position.”
Al-Hayya said Hamas is ready to immediately negotiate a deal to swap all the hostages with an agreed number of Palestinians who are imprisoned in Israel.
“Netanyahu responded to the mediators’ proposal with impossible conditions that do not lead to an end to the war or to a withdrawal. We affirm our readiness to immediately begin negotiations on a comprehensive agreement package – negotiations on a comprehensive package that includes the release of all the captives in our hands and an agreed-upon number of our prisoners held by the occupation.
“In return, the occupation must completely end the war against our people and fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli hostages can be released if the Israeli government agrees to end the war, fully withdraw from Gaza, and allow for the reconstruction of Gaza to start, al-Hayya said.
In the statement, al-Hayya stressed that Hamas would refuse to lay down its weapons to Israel.
“The resistance and its weapons are tied to the existence of the occupation, and they are a natural right of our people.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli media reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad political bureau member Ali Abu Shahin said that “the Zionist proposal to disarm the resistance is rejected and not open for discussion, and Netanyahu is raising the ceiling of his demands in order to thwart the agreement and continue the war in Gaza.”
Israeli proposal to Hamas
On Wednesday evening, Netanyahu held a situational assessment on hostage negotiations with the negotiation team and security officials.
Netanyahu “issued directives for the continuation of the steps to advance the release of our hostages” at the meeting.
Earlier this week, Hamas agreed to release nine hostages held in Gaza captivity, showing a shift in positions, as the terror group previously stated it would only release a single hostage.
Egypt received an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV cited sources as saying on Monday.
Israeli politicians react
Members of the political echelon weighed in on Hamas’s rejection of the plan. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for renewed force in Gaza in a statement on X/Twitter.
“There are no more excuses — the time has come for absolute victory. Hamas’s statement allows Israel to fulfill its dreams. Dear Prime Minister – it’s in your hands.”
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