Hamas rejects new US ceasefire plan supported by Israel

A senior Hamas official has told BBC television that the Palestinian group will reject the newest proposal of a ceasefire agreement and the release of Israeli hostages.

The White House said on Thursday that Israel had accepted the plan of the American emissary Steve Whitoff, and that it is awaiting a formal response from Hamas, reports British Television.

Media in Israel quoted Israeli officials as saying that with this plan, Hamas would hand over ten living hostages and troops of 18 hostages dead in two phases in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of several Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

However, Hamas' official said the American proposal does not meet the group's key conditions, including the outcome of the war, and that Hamas would respond at the right time.

The Israeli government has not commented, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah has reportedly told hostage families on Thursday that he has accepted the plan of the American emissary.

Israel imposed a complete blockade on the Palestinian enclave and resumed the military offensive against Hamas on March 18th after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

On May 19th, the Israeli Army launched an extensive offensive with which Netanyah said the “troops would take control of all Gaza areas”. The next day, he said that Israel would also facilitate the blockade and allow the entry of a “basic amount of food “into enclaves to prevent death from starvation.

Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in Gaza over the past ten weeks, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. /Periscope/