Hamas informs Qatar and Egypt of its agreement to their proposal for a ceasefire agreement

Hamas has informed Qatar and Egypt of their proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued on Monday evening.

On Monday, Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh “held a phone call with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel and informed them of Hamas’ approval of their proposal for a ceasefire agreement.

A Hamas official said on Monday, “the ball was now is in the Israeli occupation’s court to agree to a truce in Gaza, after Hamas informed its agreement to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators”.

In Israel’s first reaction, an Israeli official said the proposal included major concessions that Israel couldn’t accept.

The Israeli official said on Monday that the truce, to which Hamas had announced its approval, was a watered-down version of an Egyptian proposal that contained far-reaching conclusions that Israel couldn’t accept.

The Israeli official added, “This is apparently a hoax aimed at making Israel appear to be the side that rejects the deal”.

According to the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, the proposal approved by Hamas included a four-month ceasefire and other provisions including the release of prisoners in three phases.

The Hamas delegation held two-day talks in Cairo on ending the war on Gaza and exchanging prisoners, then returned to Qatar on Sunday for consultations with the group’s political leadership.

This coincided with a visit by CIA Director William Burns to Doha, in an attempt to salvage stalled negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on continuing the war after a possible exchange, while Hamas stipulates that any agreement lead to the cessation of Israeli aggression and the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has faced accusations from within Israel’s War Council, the opposition and prisoners’ families of prioritizing his political interests by stalling a deal to take back the prisoners.

An Israeli military spokesman said on Monday that all proposals for negotiations for the release of hostages in Gaza were being seriously studied, and that in parallel, the army was continuing its operations in the Hamas-controlled enclave.

Asked at a news conference whether Hamas’s announcement of its acceptance of the ceasefire proposal would affect the planned offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah, Admiral Daniel Hagari said, “We’re studying every answer and every response very seriously and exhausting all possibilities in terms of negotiations and the return of hostages… In parallel, we are still operating in the Gaza Strip and we will continue to do so”.