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Hamas Response to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal ‘Consistent’ with Principles of US Plan, Leader Says

Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)
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Hamas Response to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal ‘Consistent’ with Principles of US Plan, Leader Says

Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)

Hamas' response to the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal is consistent with the principles put forward in US President Joe Biden's plan, the group's Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised speech on the occasion of the Islamic Eid al-Adha on Sunday.

"Hamas and the (Palestinian) groups are ready for a comprehensive deal which entails a ceasefire, withdrawal from the strip, the reconstruction of what was destroyed and a comprehensive swap deal," Haniyeh said, referring to the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

On May 31, Biden laid out what he called a "three-phase" Israeli proposal that would include negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as well as phased exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Egypt and Qatar - which along with the United States have been mediating between Hamas and Israel - said on June 11 that they had received a response from the Palestinian groups to the US plan, without giving further details.

While Israel said Hamas rejected key elements of the US plan, a senior Hamas leader told Reuters that the changes the group requested were "not significant".

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Egypt, Syria Warn of Danger of Regional Spillover of Gaza War

Egypt's Sisi and Syria's Assad meet in Riyadh in November. (Egyptian presidency)
Egypt's Sisi and Syria's Assad meet in Riyadh in November. (Egyptian presidency)
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Egypt, Syria Warn of Danger of Regional Spillover of Gaza War

Egypt's Sisi and Syria's Assad meet in Riyadh in November. (Egyptian presidency)
Egypt's Sisi and Syria's Assad meet in Riyadh in November. (Egyptian presidency)

Egypt and Syria warned on Saturday of the danger of the spillover of the war in Gaza into the region.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held telephone talks to congratulate each other on the occasion of the Muslim new year.

They discussed regional developments, expressing their rejection of the displacement of Palestinians inside or outside their territories.

They hoped that relations between Cairo and Damascus would be restored to the way they were before the eruption of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

Both sides had achieved some rapprochement following the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Türkiye in 2023.

An Egyptian presidency spokesman said Sisi and Assad underscored the need to prevent the Gaza conflict from expanding into the region. They also stressed the need to maintain regional security and stability.

The Syrian presidency said Assad congratulated Sisi on the occasion of the victory of the June 30 revolution during which the Egyptian people defeated extremism.

The Syrian and Egyptian people constantly stand against extremism, which has helped protect the countries of the region and their people, it added according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.

Egypt and Syria have developed their relations in wake of the 2023 earthquake. Their foreign ministers have traded mutual visits and Sisi and Assad held telephone talks after the quake. They also met for the first time in November on the sidelines of the Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh.

Former aide to the Egyptian foreign minister Hussein Haridi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the telephone call between Sisi and Assad was a “step in the right direction that reflects the political will to consolidate relations between their countries.”

The normalization of ties between Egypt and Syria will help restore stability and security in the region and rein in the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, he added.