Hamas responds to US plan for Gaza ceasefire and calls for end to war

Hamas responds to US plan for Gaza ceasefire and calls for end to war

CNN reported that Hamas on Saturday responded to a ceasefire plan proposed by President Trump's envoy and reiterated its plea for an end to the war. In a statement, Hamas said its "proposals" to the mediators - Qatar and Egypt - are aimed at establishing a permanent ceasefire, ensuring a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza population.

Details of the Hamas statement

The statement said: "Under this agreement, ten living Israeli prisoners held by the resistance movement will be released, in addition to the return of eighteen bodies, in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners." These plans come after a senior Hamas official previously told CNN that the group had sent a three-part counteroffer to the US. This calls for assurances that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire will continue and that there will be no fighting after the break. In addition, humanitarian aid should be channeled through the United Nations and the IDF should withdraw to the positions it held on March 2nd.

How Israel responded to the proposal

An Israeli official told CNN on Saturday that they saw the militants' latest response as an effective rejection of the latest Witkoff proposal and the presentation of a new offer with its own terms. This offer involves Hamas releasing ten Israeli hostages and eighteen dead hostages in exchange for 125 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,111 Gazans arrested since the start of the war.

About the US proposal

The U.S.-backed and Israel-approved proposal, seen by CNN on Friday, would see negotiations for a permanent ceasefire begin on the first day of the 60-day ceasefire. The terms of the deal would also allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza “immediately” and be distributed “through agreed channels,” including the United Nations and the Red Cross. However, the draft contains no intrinsic guarantee of a permanent end to the war, a key demand from Hamas, nor are there any assurances that the ceasefire will be extended as long as negotiations continue.

Humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip

The negotiations between Israel and Hamas come against the backdrop of a worsening famine in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli one 11 week blockade Humanitarian aid has brought the enclave's population close to starvation. Although the blockade was lifted last week, much of the little aid that has entered the strip since then has been looted and several people have been killed Chaos broke out at relief distribution points, as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The situation of relief supplies

Nearly 80 aid trucks passing through the southern and central Gaza Strip were detained on Saturday, according to the UN World Food Program (WFP). looted by desperate civilians. In a statement on X, the WFP said 77 trucks carrying flour entered the Gaza Strip. All “were stopped along the way, with food taken primarily from starving people trying to feed their families.” It added that "after 80 days of complete blockade, communities are starving - and they are no longer willing to let food pass them by."

This story has been updated with new developments. CNN contributors Tim Lister, Dana Karni, Alex Marquardt, Kylie Atwood, Jeremy Diamond and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.