Hamas seeks ceasefire guarantees as more are killed in Gaza: Report
Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war’s end, a source close to the group has been quoted as saying by Reuters, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed dozens more people.
Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire and captive deal appeared high, nearly 21 months since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Efforts for a Gaza truce gathered steam after the US secured a ceasefire to end a 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran, but on the ground in Gaza, intensified Israeli strikes continued unabated, killing at least 59 people on Thursday, according to health authorities in the territory.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war.
Hamas is seeking clear guarantees that the ceasefire will eventually lead to the war’s end, the source close to the group told the news agency. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out.
In a statement early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing the ceasefire proposal with other Palestinian factions and would submit its response to mediators once those talks conclude.
Gaza’s civil defence calls on mediators to secure ‘comprehensive’ truce
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence, has called on “all mediators to establish an immediate and comprehensive humanitarian truce – until a final agreement is reached”.
“Civilians are not a party to this war, and they must not pay the price for delayed political understandings,” he said in a statement published in English on Telegram. “I urge you to act now. There are lives beneath the rubble, wounded without medicine, and displaced people without shelter,” Basal added.
