Hamas rejects Israel's ceasefire proposal changes, accuses Israel of 'blowing up' negotiations

As military action in the Gaza Strip is expanding both on the ground in Rafah and in airstrikes throughout the Strip, Hamas has reportedly rejected Israeli modifications to the latest ceasefire agreement proposal. 

The Qatari channel Al-Jazeera, which has a close relationship with Hamas, reported on Wednesday night about the latest proposal from the mediators. 

The channel claimed that it had seen a copy of a proposal from March 27, to which Hamas had agreed. Al Jazeera also claimed that the copy of the Israeli response included several changes in the clauses of the outline. According to the report, Hamas decided not to respond to the Israeli document and told mediators that Israel had “blown up” the negotiations. 

According to Al Jazeera, as part of the March 27 proposal, Hamas would have released 5 hostages during 50 days of the ceasefire, including Idan Alexander, who also holds American citizenship. 

In return, Israel would have released 250 prisoners, including 150 serving life sentences for terror crimes, as well as another 2,000 Gazan detainees – those who have been arrested after Oct. 7.

Additionally, the sides would return to the pre-March 2 ceasefire, reopening the crossings into Gaza, reimplementing the previous humanitarian aid protocol, including the entry of mobile homes and supplies into the Gaza Strip. On the tenth day, Hamas and Israel would exchange details about the condition of the other hostages and security prisoners held by each. 

In addition, Al Jazeera reported that the mediators committed to starting negotiations within 50 days on a permanent ceasefire, a full IDF withdrawal, and arrangements for governance for the day after the war. 

As noted, Al-Jazeera claimed that Israel rejected the proposal and demanded changes to several clauses. The sources told Al Jazeera that Israel had asked Hamas to release Idan Alexander as a gesture of goodwill and a favor to the United States, without compensation. It also requested the release of 10 hostages on the first day of the agreement in exchange for 120 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,111 Gaza detainees.

On the 10th day of the agreement, according to the Israeli modifications, Hamas would transfer the remains of 16 Israeli hostages in exchange for the bodies of 160 Palestinians killed in the war. 

The Israeli negotiating team set a 40-day ceasefire period, with negotiations on the implementation of new principles to begin on the second day of the ceasefire. 

However, the largest barrier appears to be Israel's demand that Hamas disarm, and Israel's refusal to withdraw IDF units and redeploy them outside the Gaza Strip as conditions for negotiations.