An unnamed Hamas official told the BBC on Friday that the terror group is expected to reject the latest hostage deal-ceasefire proposal by US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hamas said Thursday it does not accept the outline of US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposed ceasefire and hostage deal at face value and demands certain changes, according to people familiar with the matter.
Hamas feels deceived by the US administration, believing it has been “screwed over” with a pro-Israel proposal that does not guarantee an end to the war, an informed source familiar told The Jerusalem Post.
The information provided by the sources conflicts with reports published in Saudi newspaper Al-Hadath, which indicated that Hamas will shortly agree to a 60 day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18. As part of the proposal, the report claimed that 125 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,111 prisoners arrested after October 7, would also be released, and aid would be increased to the Gaza Strip.
The proposal also requires all hostages to be returned to Israel within a week, leaving Hamas without further leverage, the source said.
Hamas said the new proposal was more biased in favor of Israel than previous proposals, and that Witkoff accepted most of the demands presented by Ron Dermer in a meeting with him on Tuesday, a source close to Hamas told Walla.
Furthermore, the new proposal does not provide a clear American guarantee that the temporary ceasefire will lead to a permanent one, the source said. The proposal does not specify that if negotiations extend beyond 60 days, the ceasefire will also continue, and Israel will not be able to unilaterally violate it as it did in March, Walla quoted the source as saying.
According to a senior Israeli official, “Contrary to reports, the Witkoff agreement proposed in recent days did not determine the new deployment line of the IDF, nor the manner in which aid would be distributed within the framework of a ceasefire.”
Hamas said in a statement: “The Hamas Movement’s leadership has received the new Witkoff proposal from the mediators and is reviewing it responsibly to serve the interests of our people, provide them relief, and achieve a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim later added, "The agreement that Israel agreed to does not meet our demands. The Hamas leadership is responsibly considering its response to Wittkoff's proposal."
Witkoff's new proposal
The new proposal would include the release of 10 living hostages along with 18 deceased. The hostage release would take place in two rounds, a source told the Post.
Additionally, both sides would agree to a 60-day ceasefire that can be extended after the deadline if Hamas and Israel agree.
Lastly, the IDF would withdraw from areas in Gaza, and the United Nations would take over the distribution of humanitarian aid, the source said.
The Israeli response to the Gaza ceasefire offer presented by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has failed to meet Hamas' demands, the group's senior official Basim Naim told Reuters on Thursday.
"The Witkoff proposal was still under discussion," he added.
