The group has made changes to the timing of the ceasefire and is calling for the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers. Pressure from the United States has forced the militants to respond, but this is not necessarily the starting point for a more serious negotiation. The times, the requests and the almost two hundred Hezbollah rockets against Israel
Hamas responded to the Israeli proposal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza through a joint statement with Islamic Jihad, the terrorist group active in the Strip which participated in the October 7 attack against Israel and which is holding some of those kidnapped by the attacked kibbutzim captive. The group made changes to the plan and delivered its formal response to mediators from Egypt and Qatar. Israel has not released any official statement, according to an official, however, Hamas’ response greatly changes the Israeli plan and provides for changes in the times for the release of the hostages and the ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the soldiers also from the Philadelphia tzir, the corridor which divides Egypt and the Gaza Strip used, according to Israel, by Hamas to supply itself.
Hamas responded to the Israeli proposal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza through a joint statement with Islamic Jihad, the terrorist group active in the Strip which participated in the October 7 attack against Israel and which is holding some of those kidnapped by the attacked kibbutzim captive. The group made changes to the plan and delivered its formal response to mediators from Egypt and Qatar. Israel has not released any official statement, according to an official, however, Hamas’ response greatly changes the Israeli plan and provides for changes in the times for the release of the hostages and the ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the soldiers also from the Philadelphia tzir, the corridor which divides Egypt and the Gaza Strip used, according to Israel, by Hamas to supply itself.
Egypt and Qatar forwarded Hamas’ response to the United States and said they stood ready to continue their mediation efforts to “coordinate next steps.” The answer was expected and inevitable, the United States decided to increase pressure on the group in the Gaza Strip, after realizing that months of criticism and accusations against Israel by the international community had done nothing but convince the Hamas leadership that it could drag the Jewish state into a quagmire of condemnations. International pressure against Israel has become part of the strategy of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who remained in the Gaza Strip and is not inclined to compromise.
The latest Israeli proposal, announced by American President Joe Biden at the end of May, had obtained great support under the direction of the Americans who also led the United Nations Security Council to approve a motion to urge Hamas to accept the agreement.
Hamas has made some changes to the initial proposal, changes that Israel has defined as “significant”. The mediators will decide whether it is possible to reason and work on these amendments and whether it will be appropriate to organize a meeting. Times are getting longer in a context in which Hamas officials must convey their messages to the leadership inside the Stripin some tunnel in Gaza where Sinwar continues to hide.
Until now, any ceasefire in Gaza brought with it the certainty of a truce between Israel and Hezbollah, which threatens the Jewish state along the border with Lebanon. This morning Hezbollah launched nearly two hundred rockets at Israel, some reached the lower part of Galilee. Yesterday the Israeli army eliminated Abu Taleb, commander of the Nasser unit, a senior leader of the Shiite militiamen financed by Iran and armed enough to have the arsenal of an army. The clashes with Hezbollah are becoming increasingly severe, sixty thousand people have been evacuated from northern Israel for fear of attacks and possible invasions.
