Sources told the Qatari television network Al Jazeera about the details of negotiations they claim took place over the past 48 hours between the Israeli negotiating team and the mediators. "Israel demanded that Hamas release 5 hostages alive and the bodies of 10 hostages in exchange for a one-week extension of the first phase of the deal, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and an increase in humanitarian aid," the sources said. The channel added that "Israel, through the mediators, requested Hamas' response to this offer before midnight the night before last."
The terrorist organization informed the mediators that it was rejecting Israel's proposals, viewing them as "a violation of the agreement." As a result, Israel decided to stop the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and closed all crossings as of this morning.
Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that following a security discussion led by Netanyahu, Israel is adopting the outline proposed by Steve Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover. The framework includes the release of half of the living hostages and the bodies of hostages on the first day, and on the final day, if an agreement on a permanent ceasefire is reached, the remaining hostages would be freed.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said this morning to the French news agency AFP that Witkoff's ceasefire proposal, adopted by Netanyahu, essentially means that Israel "is reneging on the agreements it signed." According to him, "The only way to achieve stability in the region and return the prisoners (hostages) is to complete the implementation of the agreement, starting with the second phase. We insist on this and will not back down."
