Hamas Accepts New Ceasefire Proposal from Qatar and Egypt

A senior member of the leadership of the extremist group Hamas stated that the group has agreed to a ceasefire proposal received two days ago from Qatar and Egypt. Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech on Saturday, April 9, that the group's view of the mediators' proposal is 'positive' and that it has 'accepted' it. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, who leads the group's negotiating team in indirect talks to end the war, expressed hope that Israel would not reject the proposal. He also stated that disarming the group is a 'red line' as long as Israeli 'occupation' continues. The U.S. and Israel have repeatedly called for the disarmament of Hamas, asserting that the extremist group should not play a role in governing Gaza after the war. The Israeli Prime Minister's office announced on Saturday that a series of consultative meetings regarding the new ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar have been held, and the Israeli government has provided a reciprocal proposal in coordination with the U.S. Reuters reported on Thursday, citing security sources, that Israel has a positive view of the Qatar and Egypt proposal, which includes a transitional phase. According to this proposal, Hamas will release five of its captured hostages each week, and in return, Israel will free Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu stated that if Hamas does not release the hostages, 'parts of Gaza will be seized.' New negotiations for a new ceasefire agreement began on Thursday in Doha, the capital of Qatar, following Netanyahu's threat that Israel would seize parts of Gaza if hostages were not released. He said, 'The more Hamas refrains from releasing our hostages, the more pressure we will apply.' On the other hand, Hamas warned that if Israel does not stop bombing Palestinian areas, its hostages 'will return in coffins.' The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on January 30 after 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip, which included the release of several Hamas hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which began about ten days ago, continued on Saturday, with Hamas health officials reporting that 20 more Palestinians were killed that day. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that it has resumed 'ground activity' in the Jenin neighborhood of Rafah to establish a 'security zone' in southern Gaza. Since March 19, Israel has resumed bombing and ground operations against the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release other hostages, ending a fragile ceasefire that lasted several weeks. Since then, Israel has ordered the evacuation of tens of thousands of Palestinians in northern and southern Gaza, areas from which the Israeli army claims rockets are being fired toward Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that thousands of protesters gathered and demonstrated in Tel Aviv against the continuation of the war and the failure to release other hostages, and according to published videos, Israeli police clashed with them. On the other hand, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip held protests against Hamas last week for two consecutive days, chanting slogans against the group and calling for an end to the war. Hamas officials claim that over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. This war began after Hamas and its allied armed groups launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.