Hamas said on Wednesday it was reviewing new Gaza proposals put forward by mediators, saying it wanted a deal that ends the war and ensures Israel's withdrawal.
"We are dealing with a high level of responsibility and conducting consultations as we review the proposals presented by our brother mediators in order to reach an agreement that guarantees the end of aggression, achieve the withdrawal and urgently aid our people in Gaza," Hamas said.
The statement followed an assertion by US President Donald Trump that Israel was moving towards a ceasefire in Gaza. Speaking on Tuesday, he said Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalise a 60-day truce.
During that period, he added on his Truth Social platform, “we will work with all parties to end the war.
"The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring peace, will deliver this final proposal,” Mr Trump said. “I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this deal, because it will not get better – it will only get worse.”
Mr Trump also said he would be “very firm” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will visit Washington next week, on the need to end the 20-month conflict.
On Wednesday, however, Mr Netanyahu, making his first public remarks since Mr Trump spoke, called for the elimination of Hamas. "There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over," Mr Netanyahu said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Hamas official told The National the US was not serious about ending the Gaza war and bears direct responsibility for the conflict by supporting “massacres” in the territory.
The official, Mahmoud Taha from Hamas's media office in Beirut, described Washington's policy as a “blatant contradiction, clear lies, and hypocrisy” in light of violence on the ground.
He said Hamas “does not trust these statements because the reality on the ground contradicts what they are saying in the media”.
Trump push for ceasefire
“They talk about a proposal and a potential ceasefire next week, while at the same time Trump is sending a multimillion-dollar weapons deal to Israel to kill children and women. How does that make sense?” Mr Taha said.
“The US administration is not serious about ending the aggression on Gaza and bears direct responsibility for supporting and participating in the massacres. The death toll is rising daily.”
Contact between Hamas and Israel on one side and mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US on the other has increased over the past week in Cairo. The objective is to find enough common ground to hold another round of talks, sources have told The National.
A senior Israeli official, Ron Dermer, has also been in Washington holding discussions.
Sources said the proposals put forward to Hamas provide for the staggered release of 10 living hostages: eight during the first and second weeks of the proposed 60-day truce and two at its end.
They also involve the handover of the remains of 20 hostages who died while in captivity, said the sources. They said the release of the living hostages and remains would be in exchange for the freedom of nearly 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The proposals also include the entry of large amounts of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, they added.
Hamas officials previously told The National that the group was engaging positively with the mediators, but that the fate of a possible ceasefire lies in the talks between the US and Israel.
Mr Taha reiterated that message on Wednesday.
“We hope to reach an agreement that ends the aggression and leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as soon as possible,” he said. “But the issue lies with the Israeli side and with the US administration, which is aligned with Netanyahu and his fascist government.”
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been trying to convince Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage deal since a six-week truce collapsed in March and Israel resumed military operations.
Israel insists the war will end only when Hamas is annihilated, both militarily and politically, and all the estimated 50 hostages – of whom only 20 are believed to be alive – are freed.
Hamas wants guarantees that Israel will withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to a permanent ceasefire. Israel refuses to commit to any postwar arrangements for Gaza and says it will maintain a security presence there after the end of the war.
The Gaza war was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel communities in October 2023 in which 1,200 were killed and another 250 taken hostage. The attack drew a harsh military response from Israel that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number, according to health authorities in Gaza.
Israel also reduced to rubble most of Gaza's built-up areas and displaced the majority of the enclave's 2.3 million residents, more than once in many cases.
