Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Plan Conditions

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

GAZA/JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Worthy News) – Hamas said late Sunday that it rejects new Israeli conditions put forward in Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks, raising concerns there won’t be a breakthrough in efforts to end the 10-month-old war as fears mount of a broader armed conflict in the region.

Months of on-off talks have failed to produce an agreement or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the group’s October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Sources said that a Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday after meeting with mediators and receiving an update on the latest round of negotiations.

The talks reportedly ended without an agreement, with neither Hamas nor Israel agreeing to compromises proposed by mediators

Hamas said late Sunday that it rejects new Israeli conditions put forward in Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks, raising concerns there will be no breakthrough in efforts to end the 10-month-old war as fears mount of a broader armed conflict in the region.

Months of on-off talks have failed to produce an agreement or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the group’s October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Key sticking points in ongoing talks mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar include an Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5 kilometers-long (nine-mile) stretch of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, according to Israeli sources.

BLAMING ISRAEL

Hamas said Israel walked away on a commitment to withdraw troops from the Corridor and instead put forward other new conditions, such as screening displaced Palestinians as they return to Gaza’s more heavily populated north when the ceasefire begins.

The lack of progress came as a setback for the loved ones of hostages still held by Hamas since its attack on Israel.

Some 109 hostages remain in Gaza, and at least 34 are dead, according to Israeli military sources.

U.S. officials estimate about half of the remaining hostages are dead.

Many hostage relatives and their supporters believe that time is running out to get back those who remain alive in tough circumstances.

They believed the cease-fire talks in Cairo might have been the last chance to see the remaining hostages back alive.

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