Israel Pushes Back Against Egyptian-Qatari Ceasefire Bid that Hamas Accepted To Halt War: Report

Jerusalem: Israel has pushed back against the ‘softened’ version of the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal that Hamas has reportedly accepted, Reuters reported, quoting an anonymous Israeli official. The official said that this version of the deal included “far-reaching” conclusions that Israel could not accept without going into specifics. 

The official claimed that Hamas' acceptance of the deal appeared to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side that refused to reach a deal. 

A report by the Times of Israel, quoting Channel 12 coverage, said that Israeli officials are currently evaluating the new deal Hamas has accepted. The officials reportedly said that the deal was not the same proposal Israel had seen 10 days ago and that “all kinds of clauses” have been inserted into it. 

These new clauses supposedly relate to how and when the conflict would end and what kind of guarantees are being offered in that regard. 

During the daily State Department briefing, spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to comment on whether Hamas had been presented with a different deal and said that Washington was reviewing Hamas' response to the Egyptian-Qatari proposal. 

Earlier today, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had informed Qatar and Egypt that the group had accepted a ceasefire proposal that had been presented to it.

This announcement came hours after Israel had called on thousands of Gazans to evacuate Rafah and move to a designated safe zone ahead of an expected ground operation. While Israel has insisted that the operation is necessary to wipe out Hamas in Gaza, its closest allies, including the US, have pushed back on its plan, citing the devastating humanitarian cost of such a move.