Hamas gives ‘initial’ approval to Gaza truce plan

A source close to Hamas denies the Qatari statement.

Leaders of Hamas terrorists fighting Israeli troops in Gaza reportedly had given “initial” approval to a hostage-prisoner exchange deal that would pause their war with Israel.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said Thursday that the proposal already approved by the Israeli side now “have an initial positive confirmation from the Hamas side.”

American, Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials, who led the mediation, arrived at the proposal during negotiations in Paris early this week, according to Ansari.

Ansari said there were hopes of “good news” about a new pause in the fighting “in the next couple of weeks.”

But a source close to Hamas told Agence France-Presse on Thursday: “There is no agreement on the framework of the agreement yet — the factions have important observations — and the Qatari statement is rushed and not true.”

A Hamas source had previously told AFP the three-stage plan would start with an initial six-week halt to the fighting that would see more aid deliveries into Gaza.

Only “women, children and sick men over 60” held by militants would be freed during that stage in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the source said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

There would also be “negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces,” with possible additional phases involving more hostage-prisoner exchanges.

Fighting kills 105

Meanwhile, Hamas’ health ministry said 105 people were killed overnight from Thursday to Friday, while the group’s press office reported raids and shelling around Khan Yunis — southern Gaza’s main city and the recent epicenter of hostilities.

Nearly four months of fighting have rendered Gaza “uninhabitable,” according to the United Nations, while an Israeli siege has led to dire shortages of food, water, fuel and medicines.

The humanitarian crisis, coupled with soaring civilian casualties, has spurred increasing international calls for a ceasefire.

Visiting Khan Yunis on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops that the local Hamas brigade had been “dismantled” and that the “same will happen in Rafah,” the southern border town where hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians have fled.

Hamas gives ‘initial’ approval to Gaza truce plan.

“(Hamas) don’t have weapons, they don’t have ammunition, they have 10,000 eliminated terrorists and another 10,000 terrorists who are wounded and not functioning. This is a serious blow that erodes Hamas’ abilities,” he said.

Gallant also reiterated the government’s long-standing position that only military means could ensure Israeli captives’ release, telling troops their operations “bring us closer to enabling the return of the hostages, because Hamas only responds to pressure.”

However, domestic calls for a ceasefire and hostage deal have mounted, with protesters gathering again in Tel Aviv on Thursday night carrying placards featuring hostages’ faces and slogans such as “No more bloodshed.”

The war was triggered by Hamas terrorists’ attack on Israel on 7 October that killed 1,163 people, mostly civilians, according to a new AFP tally based on the latest official figures available Thursday.

The death toll in mid-December was 1,139.

AFP calculated the new figure by crossreferencing data published separately by Israel’s social security agency, the army, the police, the Shin Bet security agency and the prime minister’s office.

The death toll is broken down into 767 civilians, 20 hostages and 376 members of the security forces.

Israel’s military has responded to the attack with a withering offensive that has killed at least 27,019 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.