Hamas ‘generally positive’ over Gaza truce plan
Qatar’s prime minister says Hamas’s reaction to the latest Gaza ceasefire plan has been “generally positive”.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahmanalthanishared his assessment yesterday at a news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the US and Egypt tobrokeraceasefirethatwould involve an extended halt in fighting and the release of the more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its October 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war nearly four months ago.
The Qatari prime minister did not provide any details on Hamas’s response but said the group had “comments”.
Hamas later said it responded to the truce proposal “in a positive spirit” but still wants a full ceasefire and end to the offensive.
Mr Blinken confirmed that officials had received Hamas’s response and said he would brief Israel’s leaders when he visits the country today.
Mr Blinken met Egyptian officials earlier in the day and was in Saudi Arabia on Monday. His visit also comes amid growing concerns in Egypt about Israel’s stated intentions to expand the combat in Gaza to areas on the Egyptian border that are crammed with displaced Palestinians.
Israel’s defence minister has said his country’s offensive will eventually reach the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge and are now living in increasingly miserable conditions.
UN humanitarian monitors said yesterday that Israeli evacuation orders now cover two-thirds of Gaza’s territory, driving thousands more people every day toward the border areas.
Egypt has warned that an Israeli deployment along the border would threaten the peace treaty the two countries signed more than four decades ago. Egypt fears an expansion of combat to the Rafah area could push terrified Palestinian civilians across the border, a scenario Egypt has said it is determined to prevent.
Mr Blinken, who met Egyptian President Abdel-fattah el Sissi in Cairo, has said repeatedly that Palestinians must not be forced out of Gaza.
During this trip, Mr Blinken is seeking progress on a ceasefire deal, on potential normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and on preventing an escalation of regional fighting.
On all three fronts, Mr Blinken faces major challenges.
Hamas and Israel are publicly at odds over key elements of a potential truce. Israel has dismissed the United States’ calls for a path to a Palestinian state, and Iran’s militant allies in the region have shown little sign of being deterred by US strikes.
Egypt and Qatar have been trying to media te an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would lead to the release of more hostages in return for a several-week pause in Israeli military operations.
The outlines of such a deal were worked out by intelligence chiefs from the us, egypt, qatar and Israel late last month and were presented to Hamas.