Declining the Egyptian-led truce proposal, Hamas militants and Islamic Jihad terror groups operating in Gaza have rejected the offer. The proposal suggested that the militants relinquish power in return for an end to the war.
Reportedly, Hamas, the group behind the October 7 massacre in Israel, refused to participate in the terms laid out by negotiators in Cairo. The conditions included relinquishing power in Gaza, forming a Palestinian parliament, and holding free elections, according to two Egyptian security sources.
The militant organizations in Palestine expressed their readiness to discuss only a prisoner swap. This would involve the release of over 100 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel’s jails.
According to Reuters, a Hamas official present during the negotiations in Cairo stated that even the prisoner swap would only happen if Israel withdrew from Gaza.
“Hamas seeks to end the Israeli aggression against our people, the massacres and genocide, and we discussed with our Egyptian brothers the ways to do that,” the official told Reuters.
“We also said that the aid for our people must keep going and must increase, and it must reach all the population in the north and the south,” the Hamas official added. “After the aggression is stopped and the aid increased, we are ready to discuss prisoner swaps.”
While discussing a fair exchange, Hamas asserted that it would only agree to release all the hostages held by Hamas if all the prisoners held by Israel were released, according to Egyptian sources.
Before the war, there were about 5,250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This number has nearly doubled after thousands were arrested in conflicts along the West Bank since October 7, as reported by the Palestinian Prisoners Association.
It is believed that over 100 Israeli hostages are still in captivity in Gaza.
Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, emphasized that the peace talks are still being pursued. He stated that the Gazan groups have not rejected the Egyptian plan.
“The leadership of the movement seeks with all force to stop the aggression and massacres against our people completely and not temporarily,” he told Al Aljazeera. “Our people want to stop the aggression and do not wait for temporary truces and a partial truce for a short period, after which the aggression and terrorism will continue.”
The Egyptian plan revolves around three phases. The initial phase entails a two-week truce agreement, resulting in the release of 40 hostages in exchange for 120 prisoners.
The second phase focuses on establishing a new government in Gaza, while the final step calls for permanent peace and the liberation of all hostages.
Although the terror groups are hesitant to accept the proposal, Israel also seems inclined to reject it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the war will only end with the destruction of the terror group.
“Anyone who talks about stopping — no. We’re not stopping,” Netanyahu said during a visit to northern Gaza on Monday. “This is going to go until the end. Until we finish them. No less than that.”
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