Hamas says Witkoff’s Gaza ceasefire proposal must lead to the end of the war
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Hamas says Witkoff’s Gaza ceasefire proposal must lead to the end of the war
Hamas said on Saturday it had responded to a ceasefire proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The Palestinian group said under the deal, it will release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.
Item 1 of 2 Palestinians evacuate in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a house, in Gaza City, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ebrahim Hajjaj
CAIRO, May 31 (Reuters) – Hamas said on Saturday it had responded to a ceasefire proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators and included a demand for an end to the war, which had previously been a red line for Israel.
The Palestinian group said in a statement that under the deal, it will release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, comments in line with Witkoff’s proposal.
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The Hamas statement added: “This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.”
It said its response came “after conducting a round of national consultations”.
The statement did not mention that it was seeking any changes in the proposal, but a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that Hamas sought some amendments while its response was positive.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli media reported earlier this week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by Witkoff. The prime minister’s office declined to comment at the time.
Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.
Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.
Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and has left the enclave in ruins.
Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Menna Alaa El-Din; editing by Philippa Fletcher
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Hamas seeks guarantees on Israeli withdrawal in response to Gaza ceasefire plan
Hamas has given a conditional nod to a deal to end the Gaza conflict. The group wants to see a long-term ceasefire and the release of hostages. It also wants to know how much aid will be delivered to the people of Gaza. Israel has said it will not withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip until the issue is resolved. The Israeli military says it will only withdraw if a deal is reached with the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority says it is still in talks with the Israeli government over the issue of the return of the hostages to their homes in the West Bank and Gaza. It says it has not agreed to a timetable for the release. The U.S. State Department says it does not have the authority to withdraw troops from Gaza without the approval of the Palestinian government. The White House says the U.N. Security Council has the right to approve or disapprove of any plan to withdraw Israeli forces from the region. The United Nations has called for a ceasefire in the conflict to be agreed by the end of the month.
Hamas has given a conditional nod to the Gaza truce plan presented by US envoy Steve Witkoff, with the group’s reservations focused on assurances it seeks on Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territory and the distribution of aid, sources told The National on Saturday.
They said Hamas’s response to the plan was handed to Qatar and Egypt, whose mediators in turn fine-tuned it in co-operation with Hamas’s leaders.
Hamas’s response, reached after extensive consultations with its allies in Gaza, seeks firm assurances that negotiations with Israel during the proposed 60-day truce will bring about an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war, according to the sources.
Israel has long maintained it would not end the war until all hostages are released and Hamas’s governing and military capabilities are dismantled.
Hamas is also seeking clarifications on the quantity, nature and distribution of the humanitarian aid that will enter Gaza if a deal is reached. It also wants to stagger the release of 10 living hostages cited by the plan over the course of the 60-day truce, not in batches as previously.
“Hamas believes that releasing the 10 hostages one by one or two by two throughout the truce will help ensure Israel’s continuous commitment to the deal,” said one of the sources.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 58 hostages, of whom about 20 are alive, according to the military in Israel, which has already accepted the plan. Under the plan, it is expected to hand over the remains of 18 hostages.
Hamas members stand guard during the handover of three Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives in Al Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. EPA
In a vaguely-phrased statement, Hamas said on Saturday its response to the plan included a demand for an end to the war.
“This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas must agree to the ceasefire proposal or be destroyed.
“The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the ‘Witkoff Deal’ for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated,” he said.
The latest proposal to pause the war in Gaza comes after repeated attempts by mediators failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming military operations on March 18 after the end of a two-month truce brokered by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Sources told The National on Friday that Hamas was dissatisfied with the plan’s lack of “genuine guarantees” that the proposed negotiations with Israel would lead to an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
They said Hamas believed the plan left the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal and a long-term truce dependent on the progress of the negotiations, rather than the fruition of the process, the sources said.
Hamas also believes the plan ignores its suggestions on the timeline and dynamics of the handover of hostages and fails to treat the delivery of aid into Gaza as a human right, leaving the process closely linked to the proposed plan and, subsequently, subject to Israel’s use of food as a weapon.
A Palestinian man walks through the rubble following Israeli strikes on the Al Qattaa family home in Al Tuffah district in Gaza city on May 31. AFP
Under the plan, the resumption of humanitarian aid would involve 1,000 lorries a day to quickly address the widespread hunger and acute shortages of medicine and other essentials among Gaza’s 2.3 million population, the sources said.
A distribution plan drafted by UN experts for its personnel and members of affiliated agencies has been handed to Israeli authorities, the sources said.
Besides a long-term ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the proposed negotiations during the truce will, according to the plan, tackle sensitive issues, including the governing of postwar Gaza, the fate of Hamas’s weapons and the exile abroad of its senior officials, the sources said.
Hamas has already suggested it would keep away from governing Gaza and any reconstruction effort and said it is open to laying down and storing its weapons under international supervision, but not surrendering them.
It has also indicated that it will agree to some of its senior officials, as well as some from allied groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, leaving Gaza to live in exile – provided they are not attacked later by Israel.
The Gaza war was caused by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. Hamas fighters also took about 250 hostage.
Israel responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The war also laid to waste most of the enclave’s built-up areas.
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Hamas suggests changes in response to Gaza ceasefire proposal
Hamas said on Saturday that it had submitted its response containing some amendments to a proposal presented by Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to mediators. The updated proposal includes a demand for an end to the war, which had previously been a red line for Israel, and envisions the release of the Israelis held captive in Gaza being spread out throughout the 60-day truce, rather than in two batches on the first and seventh day as the US offer suggested. On Friday, the militant group said it was holding consultations with other factions operating under its rule in Gaza including Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The group said: “Now is the time to make a deal. Return the fathers to our children. Don’t make them orphans” The group would release 10 hostages, as well as a number of hostages’ remains, during the ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has not yet officially responded to the US proposal “does not respond to any of our people�s demands”
The Palestinian group said in a statement that under the deal, it will release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners – a change to the US latest proposal that will make it more difficult for Israel to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire are not completed by the end of the truce.
The updated proposal includes a demand for an end to the war, which had previously been a red line for Israel, and envisions the release of the Israelis held captive in Gaza being spread out more throughout the 60-day truce, rather than in two batches on the first and seventh day as the US offer suggested.
Several rallies will be held on Saturday evening across Israel demanding a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.
Speaking at the Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Sharon Aloni Cunio, a freed hostage whose husband, David Cunio, remains in captivity, said: “Now is the time to make a deal. Return the fathers to our children. Don’t make them orphans.”
A statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: “We call upon the prime minister from here. The time has come for a deal. For the sake of our children’s future. One comprehensive deal to bring them all home. Right now.”
The Hamas response to the US proposal appears close to a previously reported version of the deal, which specified that the group would release 10 hostages, as well as a number of hostages’ remains, during the ceasefire in exchange for 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.
The Hamas statement said: “This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.”
It said its response came “after conducting a round of national consultations”.
“There are some notes and amendments to some points, especially on the US guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces,” a senior official with the group told the Associated Press.
The US ceasefire proposal reportedly involves a 60-day pause in fighting and a redoubling of efforts towards long-term peace, as well as guarantees from Israel that it will not resume its offensive after Hamas releases hostages, which the country did in March.
Israeli negotiators accepted the deal, but Hamas’s initial reaction to the proposal was lukewarm. On Friday, the militant group said it was holding consultations with other factions operating under its rule in Gaza including Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Hamas’s response came after two days in which the militant group had indicated that the US proposal was more biased in favour of Israel than previous ones.
A leading Hamas official, Basem Naim, said on Thursday that the US proposal “does not respond to any of our people’s demands”, including lifting the humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip that has led to famine-like conditions among the population of 2 million.
The group’s reaction provoked the ire of their Israeli counterparts. Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, threatened the group on Friday with “annihilation” if it did not accept. “The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the ‘Witkoff deal’ for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated,” said Katz.
Israel has not yet officially responded to Hamas’s response, but an official told Israeli reporters on condition of anonymity that Jerusalem was treating Hamas’s changes as an “effective rejection”.
Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after only two months.
Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force, and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza be returned before it will agree to end the war.
The Israeli government fears that a lasting ceasefire and withdrawal would leave Hamas with significant influence in Gaza, even if it surrenders formal power. With time, the Israelis worry Hamas might be able to rebuild its military and launch more 7 October-style attacks.
On the other hand, Hamas fears that Israel could break the ceasefire – as it did last March – and resume the war, which the Israeli government would be permitted to do after 60 days under the terms of the deal.
A previous ceasefire collapsed in mid-March after Israel refused to move to a planned second phase that could have led to a permanent end to the war, and instead restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Negotiators have met in the months since in an attempt to reach a ceasefire, with little progress to show for it.
More than 54,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war on the besieged Palestinian territory on 7 October 2023. The Israeli offensive was in retaliation for a Hamas attack on the same day, which saw the group kill about 1,200 people and take 250 hostages. About 20 hostages are believed to still be alive and their return is a key demand of ceasefire negotiations.
As negotiations over a ceasefire continued, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has ramped up. At least 60 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza over the last 24 hours, health officials said, while 72 people were killed on Thursday.
Israel stopped allowing almost all humanitarian aid into Gaza when it resumed hostilities in the Palestinian territory. The nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine. While pressure has slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, aid organisations say far from enough food is getting in.
“After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving – and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by,” the World Food Programme said on Saturday. The UN aid agency had been allowed to bring 77 trucks loaded with flour into Gaza overnight, but the trucks were stopped en route by crowds of hungry people.
Israel’s acceptance of the US proposal is the most serious step towards achieving a ceasefire since March. The UN and regional powers have urged both Hamas and Israel to agree to a deal to put an end to fighting in Gaza and its humanitarian consequences.
“Negotiations are ongoing on the current proposal,” Qatar’s ambassador to the UN, Alya Ahmed Saif al-Thani, said on Friday, adding that Qatar was “very determined to find an ending to the horrific situation in Gaza”.
Israel prevented a delegation made up of foreign ministers from five Arab countries from visiting the occupied West Bank on Saturday as planned, where they had planned to meet the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Hamas says responded to US-led Gaza ceasefire proposal
Hamas says it has submitted a response to a ceasefire proposal presented by a regional envoy. The proposal includes a 60-day pause in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, and renewed efforts toward a long-term peace. The United Nations and regional powers have urged both Hamas and Tel Aviv to agree to a deal to put an end to the war and its humanitarian consequences.
The Palestinian resistance group said in a statement on Saturday that its response included a demand for an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Under the deal, Hamas said, it would release 10 living Israeli captives held by the resistance and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners.
“This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.”
According to Hamas, the response came “after conducting a round of national consultations.”
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Friday that he “accepts the new Witkoff outline.”
The Witkoff proposal reportedly includes a 60-day pause in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, renewed efforts toward a long-term peace, and guarantees from the Israeli regime that it will not resume its military offensive after Hamas releases captives — a promise Tel Aviv previously broke when it ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18.
The ceasefire collapsed after Israel refused to move to a planned second phase that could have led to a permanent end to its devastating war in Gaza. The regime, instead, resumed its deadly attacks on the strip and stopped allowing virtually all humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving – and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by,” the World Food Program (WFP) said on Saturday.
The United Nations and regional powers have urged both Hamas and Tel Aviv to agree to a deal to put an end to the war and its humanitarian consequences.
Hamas responds to Gaza ceasefire proposal, says war must end
Hamas says it has agreed to release 28 living and dead hostages. Palestinian militant group wants an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops. U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has proposed a 60-day truce. The proposals would see the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Israel has previously rejected Hamas’ conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force. The White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms of the proposals.. aid groups said dozens of World Food Programme trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and looted by people desperate for food. The situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine, the U.N. said on Friday. The United Nations warned the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is worse than ever.
Item 1 of 5 Palestinians walk with aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Summary Hamas says it has agreed to release 28 living and dead hostages
Hamas wants an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops
UN warns humanitarian situation worse than ever
Aid trucks stopped by gunmen, supplies taken, aid groups say
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, May 31 (Reuters) – Hamas responded to U.S.-backed ceasefire proposals on Saturday, saying it had agreed to release 28 living and dead hostages but restating its demand for an end to the war and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza
The Palestinian militant group said it would release 10 living hostages and hand over the bodies of 18 dead in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli prisons.
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A Hamas official described the group’s response to the proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as “positive” but said it was seeking some amendments. The official did not elaborate on the changes being sought by the group.
“This response aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip,” Hamas said in a statement.
The proposals would see a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that among amendments Hamas is seeking is the release of the hostages in three phases over the 60-day truce and more aid distribution in different areas. Hamas also wants gurantees the deal will lead to a permanent ceasefire, the official said.
There was no immediate response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to the Hamas statement.
Israel has previously rejected Hamas’ conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages.
Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close after the latest proposals, and the White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms.
Hamas said on Friday that the Israeli response to the proposals, which has not been made public, was unacceptable but it had agreed to consider the plan due to a “deep sense of responsibility toward our people”.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to confirm a Hamas response or provide any details. But, in an interview with Fox News, she said the United States would not take Hamas at its word but wait to see its actions.
On Saturday, the Israeli military, which relaunched its air and ground campaign in March following a two-month truce, said it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site.
The campaign has cleared large areas along the boundaries of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies entering the enclave at the beginning of March in an effort to weaken Hamas and has found itself under increasing pressure from an international community shocked by the desperate humanitarian situation the blockade has created.
On Saturday, aid groups said dozens of World Food Programme trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people desperate for food after weeks of mounting hunger.
“After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by,” the WFP said in a statement.
‘A MOCKERY’
The incident was the latest in a series that has underscored the shaky security situation hampering the delivery of aid into Gaza, following the easing of a weeks-long Israeli blockade earlier this month.
The United Nations said on Friday the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war began 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month.
“The aid that’s being sent now makes a mockery of the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinians, said in a message on the social media platform X.
Israel has been allowing a limited number of trucks from the World Food Programme and other international groups to bring flour to bakeries in Gaza but deliveries have been hampered by repeated incidents of looting.
At the same time, a separate system, run by a U.S.-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been delivering meals and food packages at three designated distribution sites.
However, aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, which they say is not neutral, and say the amount of aid allowed in falls far short of the needs of a population at risk of famine.
Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said the dire situation was being exploited by armed groups which were attacking some of the aid convoys.
He said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation”.
Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries, pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centres and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza.
Instead it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies intended for civilians and using them to entrench its hold on Gaza, which it had been running since 2007.
Hamas denies looting supplies and has executed a number of suspected looters. U.N. officials say they have seen no evidence that the group has been stealing supplies since the latest deliveries began to arrive.
Israel began its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza.
The campaign has laid waste large areas of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying or damaging most of its buildings, leaving most of the population in makeshift shelters.
Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
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