According to news reports, as reported by Reuters and Agence France-Presse on July 5th local time, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 4th that a ceasefire agreement in Gaza could be reached next week.
Hamas has responded positively to the ceasefire proposal for Gaza
On the evening of July 4th local time, Hamas issued a statement saying it had made a “positive” response to the ceasefire proposal for the Gaza Strip.
In the statement, Hamas mentioned that in order to prevent Israel’s aggression against the Gaza Strip, Hamas had completed internal consultations with various Palestinian factions and made a “positive” response to the negotiating parties. Hamas is “ready to engage seriously to initiate negotiations on the implementation mechanism of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israel media report that Hamas requests minor modifications to the plan
However, according to an Israeli newspaper on the evening of July 4th local time, citing sources, despite Hamas’s response, it still requested minor modifications to the ceasefire plan.
The report states that Hamas demanded the withdrawal of the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” established by the United States and Israel, from the Gaza Strip. The distribution of humanitarian aid in the area should continue to be managed by international organizations and institutions such as the United Nations. Hamas also requested that the Israeli military withdraw to the agreed positions at the last ceasefire.
Moreover, Hamas demanded that the negotiating parties, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, guarantee that after 60 days of ceasefire, Israel will not launch military operations against Gaza again, and both sides will continue negotiations towards achieving a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
As for this report, Hamas has yet to respond.
