Following their delegation’s return to Cairo, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas is currently engaged in thorough consultations regarding the ongoing negotiations for a possible ceasefire.
The Lebanese news network Al-Mayadeen reported on Tuesday that, despite progress, there are still contentious issues, notably concerning prisoners, which require further discussion to reach agreement on numbers and conditions.
On Tuesday, a Palestinian source with insight into the Cairo negotiations shared details and recent developments with Al-Mayadeen.
According to the source, the proposal presented to Hamas included positive elements and indicated a shift in Israel’s stance.
During his speech at the WEF in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken describes an Israeli offer of a temporary ceasefire to Hamas as "extraordinarily generous."
According to UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Israel has offered Hamas only a 40-day ceasefire in order to… pic.twitter.com/Z8oVCkkypT
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 29, 2024
Hamas is still reviewing key aspects of the proposal, particularly concerning a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The source highlighted Hamas’ adherence to a previous proposal from March 14, which led to concessions from the Israeli side regarding the ceasefire, withdrawal, and return of displaced individuals.
In related developments, the Islamic Jihad Movement’s spokesperson, Musab al-Braim, affirmed that there will be no agreement until Israel’s aggression ceases and the occupying forces withdraw, emphasizing the importance of these core principles.
According to Al-Mayadeen, Hamas leadership informed other Palestinian Resistance groups about their delegation’s consultations in Cairo regarding the recent proposal.
Blinken’s Comments ‘Contradict Reality’
On the international front, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed a pressing need for a ceasefire in Gaza, urging Hamas to respond to proposals promptly, Al-Jazeera reported.
Blinken echoed a statement by US President Joe Biden, saying that Hamas is the primary obstacle to reaching an immediate ceasefire.
According to the Associated Press, he also told Israeli leaders that “the time is now” for an agreement that would allow to free Israeli captives and put an end to the seven-month long war.
Blinken says there is a ceasefire proposal on the table
No there isn't. Theres a proposal for Israel to pause the slaughter for 40 days after which time it will begin again, & Israel has made it clear they still plan to extend that mass slaughter to Rafah. What a proposal, eh? pic.twitter.com/L86ttvIww8
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 1, 2024
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri responded to Blinken’s comments stating that they “contradict reality”.
“It is not strange for Blinken, who is known as the foreign minister of Israel, not America, to make such a statement,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters news agency.
“Even the Israeli negotiating team admitted Netanyahu was the one who was hindering reaching an agreement,” he added.
Abu Zuhri reiterated that the group was still studying the recent ceasefire proposal.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,568 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,765 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
‘I Held on to My Husband’ – Cancer Patients in Gaza Die from War and Siege
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, Al-Mayadeen, AJA)
