May 30 (UPI) — The White House said it was awaiting a response from Hamas to a 60-day cease-fire/hostage release proposal put forward by President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, after Israel “signed off” on the deal.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the development at a White House news briefing Thursday.
“Special Envoy Witkoff and the president submitted a cease-fire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported. Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas. I can also confirm that those discussions are continuing and that we hope a cease-fire in Gaza will take place so that we can return all of the hostages home,” Leavitt told reporters.
However, she said Hamas had yet to agree to the deal.
The Times of Israel reported that the deal called for Hamas to return 28 living and deceased hostages in two phases in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and the freeing of 1,236 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and the bodies of a further 180.
Israeli troops would also withdraw from some areas inside Gaza, with the exact details to be agreed in final “proximity negotiations” — indirect talks — between the sides.
However, Hamas official Basem Naim said it had received an “offical response” from Israel on the proposal but that it “fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people, among them an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.
Naim said that Hamas leadership was “undertaking a thorough and responsible review of the new proposal.”
“This evaluation is guided by a deep sense of national responsibility and a steadfast commitment to protecting the rights and the future of the Palestinian people on this land,” Naim said.
In a meeting with hostage families Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he accepted the deal but was not willing to end the war before he had achieved his goal of “eliminating Hamas.”
The deal also has to gain the backing of his cabinet, which is dominated by ministers from the far-right parties that make up Netanyahu’s coalition government.
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, took to social media Friday to address Netanyahu directly, saying Hamas was not serious about a deal and urging an all-out military assault to end the matter once and for all.
“Mr. Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again, there is no longer any excuse for anyone to continue with this shuffling in Gaza. We have already missed enough opportunities. It is time to go in with all our might, to destroy, kill and get rid of Hamas,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.
