No Truce, No Ceasefire: Hamas Rejects Mediators’ Offer

In Gaza, mediators Egypt and Qatar offered a short-term truce proposal, which Hamas rejected on Friday because it did not include a permanent ceasefire, according to a Hamas official.

As he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, the official, who was part of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP on condition of anonymity that the proposals did not call for the return of displaced people or a permanent halt in aggression.

Taher al-Nunu, a top Hamas leader, had previously issued a warning on Thursday that the organization would condemn any plan for a short-term cessation of hostilities. Nunu had, however, stated that at the time, the group had not received any official proposal.

The proposal for a “short-term” truce of “less than a month” was addressed in meetings between Qatar’s prime minister, Mossad leader David Barnea, and CIA Director Bill Burns that ended on Monday in Doha, a source familiar with the discussions told AFP on Wednesday.

The source stated that the idea called for expanding supplies to Gaza and trading Israeli hostages for Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. In an interview with AFP on Friday, the Hamas official said that the temporary truce proposal had included a partial prisoner exchange and an increase in the number of relief trucks.

He claimed that in response, the organization had reiterated its stance that “a complete, comprehensive, and lasting ceasefire is what the Palestinian people want.”