Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems dismissive about reports of Hamas accepting a 60-day ceasefire deal proposed by Arab mediators and sought demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. The development comes amid Israel's plans to take over Gaza.
According to reports, Hamas has accepted a 60-day truce deal proposed by Egyptian and Qatari ceasefire mediators. The proposed deal includes release of remaining hostages in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. "The proposal includes suspension of Israeli military operations for 60 days and a path to a comprehensive deal to end the nearly two-year war,' an Egyptian official told Reuters.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim wrote on Facebook: "The movement has handed over its approval to the new proposal presented by the mediators." Arab mediators expedited ceasefire efforts after Israel announced its plans to seize Gaza.
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While Netanyahu is yet to respond to the proposed deal, the Israeli prime minister said Hamas was "under intense pressure". In a video statement earlier on Monday, Netanyahu sounded dismissive of the proposal and said he would only agree to stop the military operation "if Hamas releases all of the hostages at once, disarms, allows for the demilitarization of Gaza, grants Israel overall security control of the Strip and hands over control to a body other than the Palestinian Authority," Times of Israel reported.
According to reports, the proposed ceasefire deal is similar to one put forward earlier by US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff; Israel had accepted that proposal. On Monday, US President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be."
