Hamas officer says he rejects the new fire termination plan in the United States supported by Israel

A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the Palestinian armed group will reject the US most proposal in the US for a new transaction to end the fire and the hostages of Gaza.

The White House said on Thursday that Israel had “signed” the plan of US envoy Steve Vikof and was waiting for an official response from Hamas.

The Israeli media quote Israeli officials that they will see that Hamas handed over 10 living hostages, and the bodies of 18 dead hostages in two phases in exchange for a 60-day cessation of fire and release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The Hamas employee said the proposal did not meet the main requests, including the termination of the war and that he would respond in a timely manner.

The Israeli government did not comment on, but on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the hostage’s families on Thursday that he had accepted Vitcof’s plan.

Israel imposed a total blockade of gas and resumed its military offensive against Hamas on March 18 after the collapse of a two -month termination of fire from the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

It says he wants to put pressure on Hamas to release the 58 hostages, who still holds, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

On May 19, the Israeli military began an extended offensive, which Netanyahu said he would see that the troops “take control of all regions” of Gaza. The next day, he said that Israel would also ease the blockade and allow “basic” amount of food in gas to prevent hunger.

Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the last 10 weeks, according to the health ministry in the territory.

UN says, 500,000 people face catastrophic starvation levels In the coming months.

At a press conference in Washington on Thursday, White House press secretary Carolyn Levit was asked if he could confirm a report from Al-Rarabiya TV that Israel and Hamas agreed with a new deal to end the fire.

“I can confirm that the special envoy Vitcof and the president have submitted a proposal to end the Hamas fire that Israel has supported and supported. Israel signed on this proposal before being sent to Hamas,” she said.

“I can also confirm that these discussions continue and we hope that there will be a ceasefire in Gaza so that we can bring everyone home for hostages,” she added.

Later, a senior Hamas official said the deal was contrary to previous discussions between the group’s negotiators and Vitcof.

The employee told the BBC that the offer did not include guarantees that the temporary truce would lead to a constant termination of the fire, nor to return to the humanitarian protocol, which allowed hundreds of trucks to aid in Gaza every day during the last termination of the fire.

Nevertheless, he said that Hamas remains in contact with the mediators and will submit his written response in a timely manner.

Earlier, channel 12 television reported that Netanyahu told the hostage’s families at a meeting: “We agree to accept the last plan of Witkoff, which was betrayed to us tonight.

Later, his office issued a statement accusing one of the channel reporters for trying to “smuggle” a recording device in the room where the meeting took place. But this did not deny that he agreed to the US proposal.

Earlier, Netanyahu said that Israel would only end the war when all the hostages were released, Hamas is either destroyed or disarmed, and its leaders are sent into exile.

Hamas said he was ready to return all the captives held, in exchange for a full end of hostilities and the complete pull of Israel from Gaza.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross -border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 others were hostage.

The other four people, two of them, were already held captive in the gas before the conflict.

So far, Israel has secured the return of 197 hostages, 148 of them alive, most of all through two temporary transactions for termination of fire with Hamas.

At least 54,249 people were killed in Gaza during the war, including 3,986 since Israel resumed its offensive, according to the health ministry in the territory.

On Thursday, at least 54 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to the Hamas Civil Protection Agency. They included 23 people who died when the home in the area of ​​the central Burey was struck, the statement said.

The Israeli military said they had hit “dozens of terrorist goals last day.”