Hamas Submits Its Response to Mediators Regarding Ceasefire Negotiations in Gaza with Key Demands from the Movement

Sada News - Israeli media reported on Wednesday evening that Hamas has submitted its final response to the proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange to the mediators, although it has not yet been conveyed to the Israeli side, according to sources familiar with the developments of the negotiations. According to the reports, the movement's response included remarks on the mechanisms for delivering aid, withdrawal maps, and guarantees related to stopping the war, with sources confirming that Hamas has, in principle, agreed to the proposal, and that the decision is currently in the hands of the Israeli government. However, the mediators, according to the reports, considered the response insufficient and refused to relay it to Israel, demanding that Hamas make additional amendments to render it "positive." Channel 12 reported from a source familiar with the details of a meeting held on Tuesday evening in Doha, which brought together the Egyptian and Qatari delegations with representatives of Hamas, that the meeting "ended without results," and that the mediators informed the movement's delegation that the submitted response was unsatisfactory. The source added that the mediators had informed Hamas before delivering the response that they expected "a positive response that includes minor improvements," but what was actually received from the movement "does not bring the agreement closer," and therefore it was "completely rejected," with a request for Hamas to make "substantial improvements" to the response. The parties sponsoring the negotiations, led by Washington, are seeking to push the talks towards an agreement before the scheduled visit of the American envoy, Steve Wheatcroft, to Doha next Friday, aiming to make final arrangements. The main demands of Hamas as reported in the Israeli media include: - Channeling humanitarian aid according to a UN mechanism without the presence of the American fund; - Reducing the size of the buffer zone demanded by Israel; - Releasing more prisoners for every Israeli prisoner; - Clear and final guarantees to stop the war and not resume it; - Allowing the residents of Gaza to return to the Strip via the Rafah crossing. Palestinian sources confirmed that the response from Hamas and resistance factions focuses on issues of aid, withdrawal maps, and guarantees for ending the war, and the remarks also covered the mechanism for delivering aid and guarantees against the resumption of fighting.