New Gaza proposal too close to Israel’s demands: Hamas

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Sunday that a new proposal meant to bridge the gaps between Israel and them over a Gaza ceasefire were too close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent positions.

Hamas’ statement came only hours after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel in a bid to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Hamas received the new proposal from mediators, Qatar, Egypt and the United States, following a two-day round of talks in Doha.

It said that the new proposal was aligned with Netanyahu, who refuses to end the war and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, including from the border with Egypt, two conditions the group sees as the basis for any agreement.

According to Hamas, the proposal “responds to Netanyahu’s conditions, especially his rejection of a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim junction, the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor”.

“We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators’ efforts, delaying the agreement, and for the lives of his prisoners who are exposed to the same danger as our people due to his ongoing aggression and systematic targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip,” said Hamas.

“We call on the mediators to assume their responsibilities and compel the occupation to implement what was agreed upon,” Hamas said, adding that it was fully committed to the previous July proposal.