Hamas criticises United States for changing preliminary agreement

Palestinian militant group Hamas said the latest version of the American proposal for achieving the ceasefire in Gaza deviates from the points where reconciliation had been reached earlier. Hamas accused Israel and his ally, the United States, of being insincere, saying the updated proposal “causes numerous confusion” because “is not what we were introduced to and not the version we agreed to. ”

We don't need any additional negotiations, we have to agree about the implementation mechanism. When Blinken says the Israelites have agreed and the Israelites say the proposal has been updated, this implies that the US administration is subject to pressure from Israel rather than the opposite”, says Hamas' senior official, Osama Hamdan.

He accused Israel of new conditions that conflicted with the American proposal, which, as Hamas official says, provided Israel's full withdrawal through two phases and a permanent ceasefire, while Israel is seeking temporary ceasefire for six weeks and the presence of its forces in two corridors, including at the border crossing with Egypt, according to Hamas' official.

Hamas' reaction came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Egypt's leaders under diplomatic efforts to convince Israel and Hamas to agree to an agreement that would ban the 10-month fighting in Gaza.

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Secretary Blinken, who called negotiations the latest “effort <x0x1>, said Israel agreed with the American proposal, aimed at approaching the positions of the parties and called on Hamas to agree with the plan.

American officials have not clarified the changes to the current version of the proposal, but Mr. Blinken said that “there are also open issues related to implementation” of the agreement, as well as clarifying the obligations it issues to the parties.

According to officials engaged in negotiations, there are disagreements about Israel's continued presence in the interior of Gaza, in particular along the border with Egypt, about the Palestinian free movement at the Gaza Strip, as well as the number and identity of Palestinian prisoners expected to be exchanged with the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th attack.

The Israeli Army announced Tuesday that its forces found the lifeless bodies of six hostages in a night-long operation south of Gaza.

Taking troops is a blow to Hamas, whose leaders hope to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and a long-term ceasefire. But this will likely increase pressure on the Israeli government to reach an agreement to release dozens of hostages believed to be still alive.

Reuters news agency, based on Egyptian security sources, reported that the United States has proposed an international presence in the Gaza Strip, a suggestion that they think is acceptable to Cairo if the mandate of this international presence is limited to six months. / VOA