GAZA STRIP – A senior Hamas official yesterday said the group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza, and insists on a lasting ceasefire.

“The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior leader of the movement, told AFP.

Mediators seeking to broker a Gaza ceasefire are expected to propose a truce of “less than a month” to Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Wednesday.

Meetings between Mossad head David Barnea, Central Intelligence Agency director Bill Burns and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha, which concluded on Monday, discussed proposing a “short-term” truce of “less than a month”, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.

The proposal involves exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinians in Israeli prisons and increasing aid to Gaza, the source added.

“US officials believe that if a short-term deal can be reached, it could lead to a more permanent agreement,” the source said.
Nunu said the group had not received any proposal so far, adding if it gets such a plan, it would respond. However, he reiterated the demands the group has been insisting on for months – “a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal (of Israeli forces) from Gaza, the return of displaced people, sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a serious prisoner exchange deal”. 

– Nampa/AFP