Hamas response to proposed Gaza ceasefire is “consistent” with principles of US plan, leader says

CAIRO (Reuters) – Hamas’ response to the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal is consistent with the principles laid out in U.S. President Joe Biden’s plan, the Qatar-based group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised speech on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on Sunday.

“Hamas and the (Palestinian) groups are ready for a comprehensive agreement that involves a ceasefire, withdrawal from the strip, reconstruction of what was destroyed and a comprehensive exchange agreement,” Haniyeh said, referring to the exchange of Israeli hostages by Palestinian prisoners. .

On May 31, Biden presented what he called a “three-phase” Israeli proposal that would include negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as phased exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Egypt and Qatar – which together with the United States have been mediating between Hamas and Israel – stated on June 11 that they had received a response from Palestinian groups to the US plan, without giving further details.

Although Israel said Hamas rejected key elements of the U.S. plan, a senior Hamas leader told Reuters that the changes requested by the group were “not significant.”

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Kirsten Donovan)