Hamas says still studying Israel’s response to Gaza cease-fire proposal

ISTANBUL

Palestinian group Hamas said Tuesday it is studying Israel’s response to a proposed cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Hamas termed Israel’s position during Egypt-hosted cease-fire talks as “intransigent.”

“The Israeli position remains intransigent and has not responded to any of the demands of our people and our resistance,” the group said.

“However, Hamas is still studying the [cease-fire] proposal, and will inform the mediators of its response once it is ready.”

A new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel to reach a deal for a prisoner swap and cease-fire in Gaza started in Egypt on Sunday.

Israel’s negotiating team returned to Tel Aviv from Egypt on Monday for talks with officials there on Gaza’s cease-fire proposal.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Over 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 76,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war, now in its 186th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement 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.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar