Hamas says it's ready for ceasefire but wants complete end to war in Gaza

Hamas suggested Wednesday that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel but stopped short of accepting a USbacked proposal announced by US President Donald Trump hours earlier insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in GazaTrump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60day 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 warTrump said the 60day period would be used to work toward ending the war something Israel says it wont accept until Hamas is defeated He said that a deal might come together as soon as next weekBut Hamas response which emphasised its demand that the war end raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialise into an actual pause in fightingHamas official Taher alNunu said that the militant group was ready and serious regarding reaching an agreementHe said Hamas was ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the warA 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 wasnt authorized to discuss the talks with the mediaIsrael and Hamas disagree on how war should endThroughout the nearly 21monthlong war ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any dealHamas has said that its willing to free the remaining 50 hostages less then half of whom are said to be alive in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the warIsrael says it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders disarms and exiles itself something the group refuses to doAn Israeli official said that the latest proposal calls for a 60day 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 on an end to the war but Israel isnt committing to that as part of the latest proposal the official saidThe official wasnt authorised to discuss the details of the proposed deal with the media so spoke on condition of anonymityIt wasnt clear how many hostages would be freed as part of the agreement but previous proposals have called for the release of about 10Israel has yet to publicly comment on Trumps announcement On Monday Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House days after Ron Dermer a senior Netanyahu adviser held discussions with top US officials about Gaza Iran and other mattersTrump issues another warningOn Tuesday Trump wrote on social media that Israel had agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE during which time we will work with all parties to end the WarI 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 saidTrumps warning may find a sceptical audience with Hamas Even before the expiration of the wars 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 to Gazas civilian populaceStill Trump views the current moment as a potential turning point in the brutal conflict that has left more than 56000 dead in the Palestinian territory The Gaza Health Ministry doesnt differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count but says that more than half of the dead are women and childrenThe war began on October 7 2023 when Hamasled militants attacked southern Israel killing 1200 people and taking roughly 250 hostagesThe war has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins with much of the urban landscape flattened in the fighting More than 90 per cent of Gazas 23 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 hungerThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever