Hamas Responds to US-Backed Ceasefire Plan

The Palestinian resistance group said the prisoner exchange could not take place until its demands, including the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Palestinian enclave, were met.

“We have confirmed our conditions for a ceasefire: full withdrawal from this sector, the return of refugees to the areas they fled, especially in the north, and the provision of adequate aid, relief and reconstruction,” stressed senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan on Tuesday (5/3/2024) during a press conference in Beirut.

Hamdan made his comments hours after United States (US) President Joe Biden and Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said Hamas must accept the ceasefire proposal, which would stop the war with Israel for at least six weeks, ahead of Ramadan.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a deal to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and allow the exchange of Hamas hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Although the Israeli government has reportedly agreed to the framework of the ceasefire proposal, demands that the Zionist state withdraw all its troops and start rebuilding the razed neighborhoods in Gaza appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted any ceasefire would only delay his forces’ “total victory” temporarily, which would mean eliminating Hamas, freeing the hostages and ensuring Gaza would no longer be a threat to Israel.

“Hamas needs to drop its crazy demands to allow a temporary ceasefire,” Netanyahu said.

US President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that Israeli negotiators had been working with mediators and a “rational offer” had been made to Hamas.