In his first response to the proposal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden last week to end the ongoing Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for eight months, Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, communicated two conditions to the negotiators. He affirmed that he would only accept any agreement if Israel committed to a permanent ceasefire, according to the Wall Street Journal. He emphasized that the movement "will not abandon its weapons or sign a proposal requesting that," as revealed by Arab intermediaries who received a brief message from Sinwar on Thursday.
On his part, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan considered the ceasefire agreement proposed by Joe Biden to be mere "words," pointing out that the movement has not received any written commitments regarding a ceasefire yet. Meanwhile, Doha announced yesterday that the movement has not yet provided its response to the ceasefire proposal, adding that it is studying it and will submit a response in a few days.
Reports indicated that the Israeli side is expecting a response tomorrow, Saturday, according to Israeli Broadcasting Authority. This comes while two senior American officials, including CIA Director William Burns, are conducting talks in Doha to aim at reviving long-stalled negotiations.
Last week, Biden offered what he described as a three-phase Israeli proposal leading to an end to the conflict, the release of all prisoners, and the reconstruction of the region, without any presence of Hamas in power. However, the movement previously expressed concerns about Tel Aviv's failure to commit to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza, especially as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared "cornered" in recent days, facing significant pressure from extremist ministers in his ruling coalition to refuse any agreement with Hamas, while other ministers and the families of prisoners pushed for a consensus on a deal leading to their release.
