While Hamas is expected to officially respond soon to the Israeli proposal, Egyptian sources told Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar Thursday morning that progress has been made toward reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
According to the report, officials in Cairo say the latest version of the Israeli proposal is unimplementable and doesn't provide minimal guarantees, but they are working "to formulate an alternative" that will bridge the gap between the parties, both regarding demilitarization and the number of hostages to be released.
The Egyptian sources said that the Egyptian approach would allow for extending the calm in exchange for increasing the number of living hostages to be released. Meanwhile, large quantities of humanitarian supplies would enter Gaza under this emerging framework, and Israel's demand to receive the hostages without Hamas propaganda ceremonies would be accepted.
On the other hand, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the terror organization "will never negotiate on weapons and those who carry them at any stage." He claimed that "disarming the resistance is solely an Israeli proposal, not an Egyptian one. This is an Israeli demand."
Mardawi also said they are ready for any deal that stops the war, but without a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal from Gaza, they will not agree to it. Addressing the demilitarization demand, he added, "There is no doubt that the mediators conveyed things they hadn't announced before, and we don't see this as a basis for any negotiation, and we rejected discussing it."
Regarding Hamas' official response, Mardawi said, "Hamas has not yet delivered its response because the issue is subject to discussion and dialogue with the factions and within the movement. Geographic considerations and logistical complications are affecting this."
Hamas senior official abroad, Nour Baraka, told the Qatari channel Al-Araby that the terror organization does not oppose starting with a first phase of ceasefire lasting 42 days. However, he noted that Hamas aims to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement before releasing hostages and wants real guarantees from the US that the war will not resume.
Additionally, he rejected the demand to disarm Gaza terror organizations and accused Israel of setting impossible conditions. According to him, Hamas is examining the response to the proposal "responsibly," but they have informed the Egyptian and Qatari mediators of their opposition to this clause, and that any initiative must include a permanent ceasefire and complete IDF withdrawal from Gaza, in addition to lifting restrictions, allowing supplies in, and agreeing on a rehabilitation mechanism.
