Hamas prepares response to Gaza truce offer

Hamas is studying Israel’s offer of a 40-day truce in the war in Gaza in exchange for the release of scores of hostages held since the Palestinian militant group’s 7 October attacks.

Returning to Qatar after the latest talks in Cairo, the Hamas delegation said it would “discuss the ideas and the proposal…we are keen to respond as quickly as possible,” a Hamas source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Egyptian sources told Al-Qahera News, a site linked to Egyptian intelligence services, that the Hamas delegation would “return with a written response”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the truce terms as “extraordinarily generous”, while the White House asked fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to increase pressure on Hamas to accept the latest push to halt the nearly seven-month-old war.

According to last night’s call readouts, US President Joe Biden urged the Egyptian and Qatari leaders “to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas”, calling this “the only obstacle” to securing relief for civilians in the besieged strip.

For months, Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to secure a new agreement between the combatants. A one-week truce in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Relentless Israeli bombardment has meanwhile devastated Hamas-run Gaza, flattening much of the territory and bringing its people to the brink of famine, while threatening to unfurl into a wider regional conflict.

In the far southern city of Rafah, Palestinians despaired over the war while searching for victims of the latest strike.

“Civilian individuals with no ties to Hamas or any other group were struck by a rocket, torn apart,” Um Louay Masri said at a destroyed building where children were being pulled out from underneath the rubble. “Why did this occur?”

To global alarm, Israel has vowed to go after Hamas battalions in Rafah, where the majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have sought refuge.

However, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said over the weekend the government may “suspend” that operation if a truce is reached.