Hamas says Israel's response to Paris cease-fire proposal 'doesn't help reach a deal'

ISTANBUL

The Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that Israel's response to a framework agreement for a cease-fire in Gaza does not help reach a deal.

At a press conference, senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said his group reviewed the Israeli response and considers it a backtrack from the proposed framework as it "puts conditions and obstacles that doesn't help reach a deal to stop the aggression on our people."

"The (Israeli) occupation’s response to the Paris proposal doesn't guarantee the freedom of movement of residents and the return of displaced people to their homes and areas and also doesn't include a total withdrawal from all areas of the Gaza Strip," Hamdan said.

He also said that Israel's response does not include the opening of crossings and the freedom of movement on them.

He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's behavior "confirms that he is continuing with a policy of evasion and procrastination" and is not serious about reaching a cease-fire deal.

He said Egyptian and Qatari mediators meanwhile estimated that his group’s response was "positive and opens the path for reaching a deal."

On Wednesday, Netanyahu rejected Hamas's offer for a cease-fire and the return of captives held in the Gaza Strip.

Last week, Hamas proposed a three-stage plan for a Gaza cease-fire that includes a 135-day pause in the fighting in return for the release of hostages, according to a Palestinian source.

The original framework agreement was worked out during a Paris meeting last month of top officials from the US, Israel, Qatar and Egypt.

Israel believes there are 134 Israelis being held in Gaza after the Israeli army had managed early Monday to free two Israelis held in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 28,340 people and injuring 67,984 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar