Hamas negotiators are expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal which Israel presented at the weekend.
“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said yesterday at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly,” he said. “I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”
A source briefed on the talks said Israel’s proposal entailed a deal for the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel. A second phase of a truce would consist of a “period of sustained calm”, Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for a permanent ceasefire.
This story is from the April 30, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the April 30, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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