Hamas says it gave mediators its response to Gaza ceasefire plan with some ‘remarks’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media as after meeting with families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, during his visit to Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo / AP

Hamas says it gave Qatari and Egyptian mediators its reply to the US-backed proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, with some “remarks” on the deal. It appeared the reply was short of an outright acceptance that the United States has been pushing for, but the group said it was ready to keep working to reach an agreement.

On his eighth visit to the region, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the UN Security Council’s vote in favour of the US-backed proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release made it “as clear as it possibly could be” that the world supports the plan, as he again called on Hamas to accept it.

“Everyone’s vote is in, except for one vote, and that’s Hamas,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv after meeting with Israeli officials. He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal when they met earlier in the week.

The foreign ministries of Qatar and Egypt - who have been key mediators with Hamas in months of talks - confirmed that they had received Hamas’ response and said mediators were studying it.

In a joint statement, Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group said they were ready to “deal positively to arrive at an agreement” and that their priority is to bring a “complete stop” to the war. A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen television that the group had “submitted some remarks on the proposal to the mediators”. He did not give any details.

In a separate development, the UN human rights office said Israeli forces and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during the deadly Israeli raid that rescued four hostages over the weekend. At least 274 Palestinians were killed in the operation, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Blinken’s latest visit to the region - his eighth since Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel ignited the war - is focused on rallying support for the ceasefire proposal, boosting the entry of humanitarian aid and advancing postwar plans for Gaza’s governance.

He met privately with families of the hostages as well as demonstrators outside a hotel calling for a ceasefire deal, and later travelled on to Jordan. Blinken was also expected to visit Qatar, which along with Egypt has served as a key mediator with Hamas.

The proposal, announced by President Joe Biden last month, calls for a three-phased plan in which Hamas would release the rest of the hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The group is still holding around 120 hostages, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Biden presented it as an Israeli proposal, but Netanyahu has publicly disputed key aspects of it, saying Israel won’t end the war without destroying Hamas and achieving the return of all the hostages.

Hamas supports the broad outline of the agreement but has demanded assurances it will be implemented. The militant group embraced a similar proposal last month that was rejected by Israel.

“Efforts are continuing to study and clarify some matters to ensure implementation by the Israeli side,” Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said. Israel “has not given clear approval or commitments to implementation that would lead to ending the aggression,” he said.

The UN Security Council voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposal, with 14 of the 15 members voting in favour and Russia abstaining. The resolution calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”.

The proposal has raised hopes of ending an 8-month war that has killed over 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and driven some 80 per cent of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Israeli restrictions and ongoing fighting have hindered efforts to bring humanitarian aid to the isolated coastal enclave, fueling widespread hunger.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Photo / AP