On Monday, a senior Hamas official stated that the Palestinian operative group sought a complete and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, following the announcement by mediator Qatar that a framework for a temporary truce was being proposed.
“We are talking first of all about a complete and comprehensive ceasefire, and not a temporary truce”, Taher al-Nunu stated, adding that after the combat has ceased, the rest of the details can be discussed including a hostage release.
Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, has led mediation efforts since Israel and Hamas went to war on October 7, sparked by the Palestinian operative group’s deadly strikes on southern Israel.
Earlier on Monday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced that negotiations in Paris with CIA chief Bill Burns and top Israeli and Egyptian security officials yielded a framework for a phased truce.
He revealed that the framework would see women and children hostages released first, followed by aid into the embattled Gaza Strip.
Sheikh Mohammed stated, “The parties were hoping to relay this proposal to Hamas and to get them to a place where they engage positively and constructively in the process”.
On Monday, it was unclear whether Hamas had received Qatar’s proposal.
Previously, Qatar mediated a one-week cease-fire in November, resulting in the release of several Israeli and foreign hostages, as well as aid entering the besieged Palestinian territory.
According to the official Israeli figures, the Hamas strike on October 7 that sparked the war, which is now in its fourth month, killed around 1,140 Israelis.
Hamas also captived 250 hostages, of whom Israel claims approximately 132 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 deceased captives. Israel’s continuous military offensive in Gaza since then has killed at least 26,637 Palestinians.
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