Hamas says it's open to Gaza truce but stops short of accepting Trump-backed proposal
Cairo, Jul 2 (AP): Hamas suggested Wednesday that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but stopped short of accepting a US-backed proposal announced by President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.
Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.
The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire, and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war.
Trump said the 60-day period would be used to work toward ending the war — something Israel says it won't accept until Hamas is defeated. He said that a deal might come together as soon as next week.
But Hamas' response, which emphasised its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialise into an actual pause in fighting.
Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said that the group was “ready and serious regarding reaching an agreement”.
He said Hamas was “ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war”.
A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, according to an Egyptian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn't authorised to discuss the talks with the media.
Disagreement on how the war should end
Throughout the nearly 21-month-long war, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any deal.
Hamas said in a brief statement Wednesday that it had received a proposal from the mediators and is holding talks with them to “bridge gaps” to return to the negotiating table to try to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Hamas has said that it's willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, less than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
Israel says it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and exiles itself, something the group refuses to do.
An Israeli official said that the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. The mediators and the US would provide assurances about talks to end the war, but Israel isn't committing to that as part of the latest proposal, the official said.
The official wasn't authorised to discuss the details of the proposed deal with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It wasn't clear how many hostages would be freed as part of the agreement, but previous proposals have called for the release of about 10.
Israel has yet to publicly comment on Trump's announcement. On Monday, Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, days after Ron Dermer, a senior Netanyahu adviser, held discussions with top US officials about Gaza, Iran and other matters.
Trump issues another warning
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that Israel had "agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said.
Trump's warning may find a sceptical audience with Hamas. Even before the expiration of the war's longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid for Gaza's civilians.
Still, Trump views the current moment as a potential turning point in the brutal conflict that has left more than 57,000 dead in the Palestinian territory.
Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll passed the 57,000 mark Tuesday into Wednesday, after hospitals received 142 bodies overnight. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count, but says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
Since dawn Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed a total of 40 people across the Gaza Strip, the ministry said. Hospital officials said four children and seven women were among the dead.
The Israeli military, which blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because it operates from populated areas, was looking into the reports.
The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.
The war has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins, with much of the urban landscape flattened in the fighting.
More than 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million population has been displaced, often multiple times. And the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, pushing hundreds of thousands of people toward hunger.
Hospital director killed
The director of the Indonesian Hospital, Dr Marwan Sultan, was killed in an apartment in an Israeli strike west of Gaza City, a hospital statement said. The hospital is the Palestinian enclave's largest medical facility north of Gaza City and has been a critical lifeline since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The hospital was surrounded by Israeli troops last month, and evacuated alongside the other two primary hospitals in northern Gaza.
The bodies of Sultan, his wife, daughter and son-in-law, arrived at Shifa Hospital torn into pieces, according to Issam Nabhan, head of the nursing department at the Indonesian Hospital.
“Gaza lost a great man and doctor," Nabhan said. "He never left the hospital one moment since the war began and urged us to stay and provide humanitarian assistance. We don't know what he did to deserve getting killed.”
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Don't know reason behind Dhankhar's resignation: Kharge
Vijayapura (Karnataka), Jul 27 (PTI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he has no information on the actual reason for Jagdeep Dhankhar resigning as the Vice President.
Dhankhar has to tell what really happened as the matter is between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.
Noting that Dhankhar always took the government's side, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said he never allowed the opposition, whenever it tried to raise issues, whether it was concerning farmers or poor or on foreign policy issues.
"I don't know all those details. He (Dhankhar) was always on the government's side. He should say what happened," Kharge said in response to a question whether Dhankhar was forced to resign as he spoke in favour of farmers.
Speaking to reporters here, Kharge said, "When we raised several issues concerning farmers, poor, international issues or foreign policy, he never used to give us an opportunity (in Rajya Sabha as its Chairman)."
"When we tried to raise issues by giving notices on issues regarding the poor, atrocities against women, dalits and downtrodden, and incidents like Hindu-Muslim clashes, he did not give us an opportunity. It (reason for Dhankhar's resignation as Vice President) is between him and Modi. We don't have any information on that," he added.
In a sudden move, Dhankhar on July 21 evening resigned from his post as Vice President, citing medical reasons, triggering speculation in political circles.
In his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu, Dhankhar said he was stepping down with immediate effect to "prioritise health care".
Responding to a question about changing the Karnataka Congress president, Kharge said, "All those things cannot be said now. Will speak later."
Currently, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is holding the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president post on an extended tenure.
There have been voices within the ruling Congress in the state to replace him, citing him holding two key positions.
