On 4/7/2023, Hamas announced it had finished internal discussions and consultations with other Palestinian armed groups regarding the latest ceasefire proposal for the Gaza Strip. The group stated it had conveyed a "positive" response to mediators and is "fully ready and serious to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework."

Islamic Jihad, Hamas's ally in Gaza, also expressed support for negotiations toward a ceasefire, but demanded guarantees that Israel would "not continue acts of aggression" after the hostages are released.

An official from an armed group allied with Hamas told Reuters that concerns remain about humanitarian aid, movement through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, and the timing of the Israeli military withdrawal.

Israeli media quoted an Israeli official confirming that Tel Aviv had received Hamas's response and was reviewing it.

Destruction in the Al-Zawaideh area of the Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike on 1/7. Photo: *AP*

An Egyptian security official, whose country is mediating the negotiations alongside Qatar, said Hamas's response "contained positive signs indicating an imminent agreement, but some of the group's demands still need to be addressed."

On 4/7, US media, citing Middle Eastern intelligence officials, reported that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the new leader of Hamas's armed wing, recently stated that unless they reach an "honorable agreement" to end hostilities with Israel, the conflict in Gaza will become a "martyrdom" operation.

US President Donald Trump announced on 1/7 that Israel had "agreed to the necessary conditions" for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza. On 4/7, he said the parties would know Hamas's answer to the "final proposal" for a ceasefire in the territory within the next 24 hours.

AFP, citing a knowledgeable Palestinian source, reported that the proposal stipulates that during the 60-day ceasefire, Hamas will release half of the hostages still alive in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to meet with President Trump in Washington early next week, has not commented on the US president's statement. Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that Hamas must be disarmed, a demand the group has so far refused to discuss.

Map of areas in the Gaza Strip. Graphic: *BBC*

The conflict in Gaza erupted in October 2023 after Hamas launched a coordinated attack on southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Currently, 49 are still held in Gaza, of whom 27 are believed by Israel to be dead.

The subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, mostly civilians, according to local health officials.

Pham Giang (*Reuters, AFP*)