Hamas says it accepts ceasefire proposal of Egypt, Qatar
World
Israeli official says Hamas truce announcement seems to be a ruse, some clauses unacceptable
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas said on Monday that it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar.
The Islamist faction said in a statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's intelligence chief of its acceptance of their proposal.
There were no immediate details over what the agreement entailed.
Hamas agreed to the latest proposal that Israel had made on April 27 and there were no major changes since then, an official briefed on the ceasefire talks said, adding the Qatari mediators had spoken to Hamas about this on Sunday and Monday.
"What happens next depends on Israel to accept or reject Hamas' response. The ball is in Israel's court," the source told Reuters, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the Hamas chief told him in a phone call on Monday that the ball is now in Israel's court after the group had agreed to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.
Amirabdollahian also said on social media platform X that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had told him "We are sincere in our intentions."
However, an Israeli official said on Monday no ceasefire had been agreed in Gaza, after Hamas said it had accepted a proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The Israeli official said the proposal that Hamas had accepted was a "softened" version of an Egyptian proposal, which included "far-reaching" conclusions that Israel could not accept.
"This would appear to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal," said the Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, Hamas said in a brief statement that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that the group accepted their ceasefire proposal. The statement gave no details of the accord.
There has been no successful agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza since a week-long pause in the fighting in November.
The Hamas announcement of an agreement came hours after Israel ordered the evacuation of parts of Rafah, the city on Gaza's southern edge that has served as the last sanctuary for around half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.
