The Islamist group Hamas assured this Wednesday that in its “positive” response to the ceasefire plan of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, it raised a “new timetable” for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an Israeli withdrawal from the entire Strip.
(You can read: Hamas and Islamic Jihad respond ‘positively’ to the latest truce offer with Israel: is an agreement coming?)
In his response, -added the source- The group “has proposed a new schedule for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal from all of Gaza, including Rafah,” in the south of the Palestinian enclave, and which connects Egypt with the Strip..
These are also clarifications on the permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal from Gaza and the deadlines during which this procedure will be carried out.
(You can read: Gaza Conference urges Israel to reopen all border crossings with the enclave so that humanitarian aid can enter)
Qatar, Egypt and the United States, which mediate in the Gaza conflict, announced on Tuesday that they received a proposal from Hamas and other Palestinian factions, alluding to Islamic Jihad, another group that apparently also holds Israeli hostages, without specifying its content. .
The mediators said they will study the response “with the interested parties” and they will continue their efforts to achieve an agreement based on the proposal announced by Biden on May 31, and which has garnered support from numerous actors in the international community.
(Also read: ‘Netanyahu walks a tightrope’: pressure grows on the Israeli president to accept a ceasefire)
Ceasefire and hostage exchange
In addition to a ceasefire, the plan contemplates the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, increased aid to Gazans, among other points, and in a final phase a process for the reconstruction of the enclave.
(You can read: New warning from the United States: ‘Israel must take more measures to reduce civilian casualties even when facing Hamas’)
A Palestinian boy carries his bicycle as he climbs through rubble a day after an Israeli Special Forces operation in the Nuseirat camp, central Gaza Strip,
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He stressed that among other “details that must be agreed upon” are points such as “how will Palestinian citizens get to northern Gaza?, from what areas will (Israel) withdraw? or the hours during which Israel will stop monitoring, in addition to the type of aid that will enter Gaza, how will it enter and how will it be distributed?
On the other hand, Egyptian security sources told EFE that in their response, Hamas calls for China, Turkey and Russia to be guarantor parties to the agreement, and that “at the end of the first phase, the Israeli withdrawal must be complete and that there be no Israeli soldiers in Gaza.”
(You can read: UN warns that Israel would have committed war crimes during an operation in Gaza to rescue four hostages)
“In the first phase, the resistance will hand over 33 hostages, alive and dead, and every three days it will release three hostages,” but “if the withdrawal is not carried out in the first seven days, the hostage release process will be suspended.” Hamas demands, according to Egyptian security sources.
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