The office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed this Tuesday (6) that it received Hamas' response to the proposed truce framework transmitted by Qatar, the main mediator in the conflict, and assured that it is now evaluating it.
“Hamas' response was transmitted by the Qatari mediator to the Mossad (Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service),” and “its details are being thoroughly evaluated by senior officials involved in the negotiations,” the organization said in a statement, without giving further details. about the case.
Earlier, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman announced that his country's mediation team had received a “positive” response from Hamas regarding the proposed agreement for the release of hostages still held captive in Gaza. .
“I would like to inform the media that we have received a response from Hamas regarding the general framework of the hostage agreement. The response includes some comments, but is generally positive,” the minister said at a press conference in Doha with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Bin Abdul Rahman, who refused to give details “given the sensitivity of the circumstances”, was “optimistic” and guaranteed that they had already delivered Hamas' response to Israel.
Blinken, in turn, assured that Washington is “reviewing” Hamas’ response to the proposed agreement, and that he will evaluate it this Wednesday (7) together with the Israeli government during his visit to the country.
Hamas, for its part, also confirmed that it responded “with a positive spirit” to the proposed framework for a possible ceasefire.
Blinken recalled that together with Qatar and Egypt, the main mediators of the conflict, “a serious proposal was presented whose objective was not simply to repeat the previous agreement, but to expand it”, in reference to the brief truce agreed at the end of November last year. which allowed the release of 105 hostages in Gaza.
That brief cessation of hostilities in the last week of November, Blinken said, also marked a “considerable increase” in humanitarian aid to Gaza, in addition to the repair of its “critical infrastructure.”
Asked about the possibility of a truce agreement, Blinken insisted that tomorrow he will study the response with Israel and that “they will work as hard as they can”.
However, US President Joe Biden said at the White House that Hamas' counteroffer was “a little exaggerated.”
Although the details of the draft agreement have not been published, the latest leaked information points to the release of 136 hostages held by Hamas, around 30 already dead, over a period of 142 days, in exchange for the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners .
However, the terrorist group demands as a starting point an Israeli commitment to agree to a permanent ceasefire to end the war, something that Israel is not willing to accept.
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