Netanyahu's Office: We Have Received Hamas' Response to the Deal Proposal and We Are Studying It

SadaNews: The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Tel Aviv has received Hamas' response regarding the Gaza ceasefire from the mediators, and that they are currently studying it.

For his part, an Israeli political source familiar with the negotiations stated in a comment to the Israeli public broadcasting authority ("Kan 11") today, Thursday, that the updated response provided by Hamas to the mediators on the ceasefire proposal "has a more positive nature" than the previous response.

The source indicated that "Israel is waiting to assess whether this response allows for progress in the coming days." The Israeli government stated in a brief announcement that the mediators delivered Hamas' response to the Israeli negotiation team, which is currently studying it.

In this context, the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" quoted an informed source saying that "Hamas' response has seen improvements compared to the response that was rejected by the mediating parties," but emphasized that "the improvement is not enough, yet it may form a basis for subsequent negotiations."

The source added that the improvements pertain to several points, including Hamas' demands for a wider withdrawal by the Israeli army, expanding the area it will withdraw from, opening the Rafah crossing, and allowing aid to enter through it via the United Nations.

The movement also demands the opening of the "Nitzarim" axis under the supervision of an American company as was the case in the previous deal, and an increase in the number of released Palestinian prisoners. According to the source, "the movement seeks to buy time and is not in a hurry to finalize the deal."

The report indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold consultations today with the negotiation team in Doha before his advisor Ron Dermer meets with the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Hittcock, on the Italian island of Sardinia, where he is also expected to meet with a senior Qatari official.

According to "Wynet," Hamas' updated response came after Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, in addition to Israeli officials, expressed their disappointment with the movement's previous response to the Israeli ceasefire proposal and the prisoner deal, considering it "not sufficient at all," prompting them to ask the movement "to provide a more suitable and negotiable response."

The report added that the Egyptian and Qatari mediators requested Hamas to make "substantial amendments to allow for the continuation of negotiations," and that the new response was delivered to the mediators two days ago, and Israeli intelligence, military, and political authorities have been briefed on it.

There are still disagreements over key issues, most notably concerning the maps of the Israeli army's deployment and the extent of its withdrawal, especially from areas that Israel regained control over after the resumption of war last March.

Hamas is demanding withdrawal from most of these areas, which is a demand that exceeds even the concessions that Israel was prepared to offer; the movement also demands guarantees regarding the end of the war and the continuation of serious negotiations in this regard during the ceasefire period.