The Islamist group Hamas confirmed Monday that it has accepted a high fire proposal in the Gaza Strip, although it did not give details about the conditions, and Israel, for the moment, has not spoken about it.
“Hamas and the Palestinian factions announced their approval of the proposal presented yesterday by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators,” said the Palestinian group in a brief statement.
The message comes after several Israeli and Arab media said that the Islamist militia has approved a partial agreement, which includes the release of some of the hostages in the strip and the withdrawal of the Israeli soldiers of the north and the east of the enclave.
This Monday, an Egyptian source told Efe that Hamas was approached to the last truce proposal after a joint meeting between Egyptian and catari mediators with the leaders of his delegation present in Egypt.
The plan includes freezing the group’s military activities in the Gaza Strip, a high fire of 60 days in exchange for the release of 10 Israeli hostages by Hamas and the massive entry of help to the enclave to relieve the serious humanitarian crisis facing the Gazati population.
“The proposal stipulates that Israel will allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid trucks, as well as the withdrawal of the Israeli army from some areas where it had entered after the failure of the high fire agreement on March 2,” added the source, which did not specify any number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel will release in exchange for Israeli hostages.
After knowing the news, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, said that the only reason why Hamas is willing to return to the negotiating table is the threat of Israel to conquer the city of Gaza, while Prime Minister, Benjamín Netanyahu, said Islamists face a “immense pressure.”
