Hamas to respond to Gaza cease-fire proposal in coming days: Egyptian source

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

CAIRO (AA) – Palestinian group Hamas will respond to a Gaza cease-fire proposal in the coming days, an Egyptian source said on Thursday.

"Egypt received positive signs from Hamas indicating its desire for a cease-fire," the state-run Al-Qahera News channel said, citing a high-level Egyptian source.

According to the source, Hamas is “seriously” and “positively” studying the proposal.

“Hamas will submit its response (to the proposal) in the coming days,” he added.

The source said Egypt held intensive contacts in the last hours to resume the Gaza cease-fire negotiations.

He said recent visits by delegations from Palestinian groups Fatah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to Cairo were part of Egyptian efforts to heal inter-Palestinian rift and restore stability to the Gaza Strip.

“There is an Egyptian invitation for Hamas leaders to visit Cairo and discuss all the details related to the current situation,” he added.

On Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his group will “seriously” and “positively” consider any agreement that is based on ending the Israeli war, complete withdrawal from Gaza and a prisoner exchange.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden said Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said Monday that he was “not ready to stop" the war on Gaza, calling Biden's remarks about the cease-fire proposal “inaccurate.”

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,650 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 83,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala