HAMAS CALLS FOR HALT
“During communications with mediators, Hamas insisted that it is essential for Israel to halt military operations across all areas of the Gaza Strip, cease all air, reconnaissance, and drone activity, and withdraw from inside Gaza City,” a Palestinian source close to Hamas said.
“In parallel with the cessation of Israeli military activity, Hamas and the resistance factions will also halt their military operations and actions,” he added.
The group on Sunday also called for a swift start to the hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel.
“Hamas is very keen to reach an agreement to end the war and immediately begin the prisoner exchange process in accordance with the field conditions,” a senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
According to Trump’s plan, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences and more than 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after Oct 7, 2023.
An official briefed on the talks said the negotiations will focus on hammering out a comprehensive deal before a ceasefire can be implemented.
“This differs from earlier rounds of negotiations, which followed a phased approach, where the first phase was agreed and then required more negotiations to reach subsequent phases in the ceasefire,” the official told Reuters.
“These subsequent rounds of negotiations are where things broke down previously and there is a conscious effort among mediators to avoid that approach this time around.”
Rubio told ABC’s This Week that a timeline for finalising a deal to release the hostages was uncertain but that talks “cannot take weeks or even multiple days. We want to see this happen very fast”.
Trump has warned he would “not tolerate delay” from Hamas, urging the group to move quickly towards a deal “or else all bets will be off”.
The US president said on Truth Social that Israel had agreed to an initial line of withdrawal in Gaza and that this had been shared with Hamas.
“When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal,” he posted, alongside a map of the proposed line.
