عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Hamas Seeks Changes in US Gaza Proposal, Witkoff Calls Response ‘Unacceptable’

This picture taken from the grounds of the Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Maamadani (Baptist) Hospital, shows a cloud of smoke erupting following Israeli bombardment on a building in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City on May 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
This picture taken from the grounds of the Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Maamadani (Baptist) Hospital, shows a cloud of smoke erupting following Israeli bombardment on a building in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City on May 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
TT
TT

Hamas Seeks Changes in US Gaza Proposal, Witkoff Calls Response ‘Unacceptable’

This picture taken from the grounds of the Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Maamadani (Baptist) Hospital, shows a cloud of smoke erupting following Israeli bombardment on a building in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City on May 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
This picture taken from the grounds of the Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Maamadani (Baptist) Hospital, shows a cloud of smoke erupting following Israeli bombardment on a building in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City on May 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Hamas said on Saturday it was seeking amendments to a US-backed proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, but President Donald Trump's envoy rejected the group's response as "totally unacceptable." 

The Palestinian group said it was willing to release 10 living hostages and hand over the bodies of 18 dead in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. But Hamas reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Israel has rejected. 

A Hamas official described the group's response to the proposals from Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as "positive" but said it was seeking some amendments. The official did not elaborate on the changes being sought. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that while his government had agreed to Witkoff's outline, Hamas was continuing its rejection of the plan. "Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas," he said in a statement. 

Hamas said in a statement: "This response aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip." 

The document containing Hamas' response, seen by Reuters, demands that Gaza residents be allowed unrestricted travel through the Rafah crossing and that the movement of goods be resumed. 

It calls for restoring Gaza’s infrastructure, including electricity, water and sanitation, and seeks permission for building materials needed to repair hospitals, health centers, schools, and bakeries across the strip. 

Under the Hamas plan, which the document says is guaranteed by Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, Israel would stop all military activity in Gaza when the ceasefire agreement goes into effect, and aid would be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. 

The Palestinian group said it would provide information about the number of living and deceased Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for details about Palestinian prisoners detained since Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023. "President Trump will personally announce the ceasefire agreement. The US and President Trump are committed to ensuring serious negotiations until a final agreement is reached,” the document says. 

The proposals envisage a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave. 

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim denied any rejection of Witkoff's proposal but said Israel's response was incompatible with what had been agreed. He accused the U.S. envoy of acting with "complete bias" in favor of Israel. 

A Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that among the amendments Hamas is seeking is the release of the hostages in three phases over the 60-day truce and more aid distribution in different areas. Hamas also wants guarantees the deal will lead to a permanent ceasefire, the official said. 

Israel has previously rejected Hamas' conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages. 

Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close after the latest proposals, and the White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms. 

Saying he had received Hamas' response, Witkoff posted on X: "It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week." 

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas' Gaza chief on May 13, confirming what Netanyahu said earlier this week. 

Sinwar, the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel, was the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death. 

The Israeli military, which relaunched its air and ground campaign in March following a two-month truce, said on Saturday it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site. 

The campaign has cleared large areas along the boundaries of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis. 

Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies entering the enclave at the beginning of March in an effort to weaken Hamas and has found itself under increasing pressure from an international community shocked by the desperate humanitarian situation the blockade has created. 

On Saturday, aid groups said dozens of World Food Program trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people desperate for food after weeks of mounting hunger. 

"After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by," the WFP said in a statement. 

'A MOCKERY' 

The United Nations said on Friday the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month. 

"The aid that's being sent now makes a mockery of the mass tragedy unfolding under our watch," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main UN relief organization for Palestinians, said in a message on X. 

Israel has been allowing a limited number of trucks from the World Food Program and other international groups to bring flour to bakeries in Gaza but deliveries have been hampered by repeated incidents of looting. 

A separate system, run by a US-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been delivering meals and food packages at three designated distribution sites. 

However, aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, which they say is not neutral, and say the amount of aid allowed in falls far short of the needs of a population at risk of famine. 

Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries, pointing to its endorsement of the new GHF distribution centers and its consent for other aid trucks to enter Gaza. 

Instead, it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies intended for civilians and using them to entrench its hold on Gaza, which it had been running since 2007. Hamas denies looting supplies and has executed a number of suspected looters. 

Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza. 

The campaign has laid waste large areas of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying or damaging most of its buildings, leaving most of the population in makeshift shelters. 

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israel Carries Out Air Strikes in South Lebanon after Evacuation Warning

09 May 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
09 May 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
TT
TT

Israel Carries Out Air Strikes in South Lebanon after Evacuation Warning

09 May 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa
09 May 2026, Lebanon, Arnoun: Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday after Israel's army issued an evacuation warning to several villages, as well as in other areas despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"In light of the terrorist Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is compelled to act against it forcefully," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, listing nine villages.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and stay away from the villages and towns by a distance of no less than 1,000 meters to open areas," he added.

Israeli warplanes "launched a strike on the town of Zrariyeh after the morning warning,” the state-run National News Agency said, also reporting strikes on several other areas included in the Israeli warning, in which the army said it would act against Hezbollah.

The agency also reported Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling on other areas of the country's south not mentioned in the warning, along with casualties in several locations.

Arab World

Syria Says Arabic Remains Sole Official Language after Hasakah Unrest

People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakah, Syria, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakah, Syria, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
TT
TT

Syria Says Arabic Remains Sole Official Language after Hasakah Unrest

People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakah, Syria, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People gather as prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive after being released under an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government, in Hasakah, Syria, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Syrian authorities released a new group of SDF-linked detainees on Friday, in a sign that the government is pressing ahead with a prisoner release clause under an integration agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The move came as the government insisted Arabic remains Syria’s only official language under current laws, a position that drew renewed attention after SDF-affiliated Revolutionary Youth attacked the Justice Palace in Hasakah and its staff on Thursday.

The incident coincided with arrangements to hand the building over to the government and formally reopen it.

The detainees, SDF members held by the state after being arrested during law enforcement operations, left on Friday afternoon for the Melabiya area south of Hasakah ahead of their release.

The Hasakah Media Directorate said the move was supervised by the presidential team and came in implementation of the Jan. 29 agreement.

Sources had told the ANHA agency that the government was expected to release about 300 prisoners on Thursday or Friday. They said intensive preparations had been underway since Tuesday to speed up the release of a new batch.

At the time, ANHA quoted sources as saying the number of detainees still held by the government was estimated at between 500 and 600. No exchanges had been recorded since April 11.

The release went ahead despite Thursday’s disruption of the planned handover of the Justice Palace in Hasakah.

Members of the SDF-affiliated Revolutionary Youth attacked the building and its staff as arrangements were underway to hand it over to the government and reopen it.

Kurdish websites said dozens of residents had protested after Kurdish was removed from the Justice Palace sign, leaving only Arabic and English.

Hasakah Deputy Governor Ahmad al-Hilali, spokesman for the presidential team tasked with implementing the integration agreement, said in a Facebook statement that the Justice Palace is an official institution bound by Syrian state laws.

“Regarding what has been misunderstood about placing a sign on the Justice Palace building in Hasakah that does not include the Kurdish language, it is important to clarify that the Justice Palace represents an official institution that embodies justice and commitment to the laws in force in the Syrian state,” Hilali said.

He said Decree No. 13 recognizes Kurdish as a national language and allows it to be taught in public and private schools in areas where Kurds make up a notable share of the population, through optional curricula or cultural and educational activities.

But Hilali said Arabic remains the only official language of the Syrian Arab Republic under the constitution and current legislation, and must be used in official institutions, education, legal documentation, and state transactions.

He said protecting Arabic and using it exclusively in official correspondence and transactions were part of state sovereignty and public order.

These laws, he added, cannot be bypassed at this stage under the constitutional declaration except through future constitutional and legal amendments approved by the relevant legislative bodies, foremost among them the Syrian People’s Assembly, which is expected to convene soon.

The Justice Ministry strongly condemned the unrest and vandalism targeting the Justice Palace in Hasakah, saying in a statement on its official accounts that the acts violated public order, state authority and the rule of law.

It said it would take all necessary legal measures against those involved.

The integration of judicial institutions has been faltering since its implementation began in April.

Shalal Kedo, head of the Kurdish Left Party in Syria, said the attack by dozens of members of the Revolutionary Youth, affiliated with the SDF and the Autonomous Administration linked to the Democratic Union Party, pointed to divisions within that structure over the integration agreement.

Kedo, whose party is part of the Kurdish National Council, told Asharq Al-Awsat that some parties within the structure were moving toward implementing the agreement and integrating institutions, while others were trying to obstruct it.

“It is clear that there are parties within this structure moving toward implementing the agreement and integrating institutions, as we are seeing on the ground, while other parties, such as the Revolutionary Youth, are trying to create obstacles and put sticks in the wheels to disrupt the course of understandings,” he said.

Kedo said the Kurdish language issue, which sparked Thursday’s events in Hasakah, remains a natural and legitimate right for Syria’s Kurds. Kurdish, he said, should be the country’s second official language.

He said Decree No. 13 on Kurdish rights carries important implications that should be built on, developed and included in the new Syrian constitution.

“In all cases, the Kurdish language issue cannot be reduced to the integration agreement, because the Kurdish issue is much older and deeper than that. It has existed since the emergence of the modern Syrian state,” Kedo said.

“As for the SDF issue, that is a different matter. The SDF, as a military faction, signed an agreement to integrate into the Syrian army, while the institutions affiliated with the Autonomous Administration are being integrated into Syrian state institutions,” he said.

“For our part, we support normalization, the Jan. 29 agreement, and the integration of the Autonomous Administration’s institutions and its security and military formations into Syrian state institutions and the Syrian army,” Kedo added.

“At the same time, however, the demand to establish Kurdish as a second official language and as a language of education, culture and media is a legitimate demand.”

Arab World

Sudan’s War Fuels Silent Disaster for Forests

Damage to Sudan’s forests caused by the war and indiscriminate tree cutting (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Damage to Sudan’s forests caused by the war and indiscriminate tree cutting (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Sudan’s War Fuels Silent Disaster for Forests

Damage to Sudan’s forests caused by the war and indiscriminate tree cutting (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Damage to Sudan’s forests caused by the war and indiscriminate tree cutting (Asharq Al-Awsat)

As war tears through Sudan, the environment has been buried beneath the smoke of battle, mass displacement and hunger. Yet it is one of the sectors suffering the broadest and deepest losses.

Experts say what is unfolding in Sudan’s forests is no longer routine environmental degradation. It is a silent disaster threatening the country’s natural resources and climate balance, as the state’s ability to monitor and protect them weakens and living pressures grow.

The collapse of basic services, fuel shortages and soaring living costs have forced thousands of Sudanese families back to firewood and charcoal as alternative energy sources.

The result has been a surge in tree felling and the depletion of forest belts. Internal displacement has added to the pressure, with large numbers of people moving to safer areas and setting up temporary shelters in wooded zones, amid an almost total absence of environmental oversight and law enforcement.

A bitter reality

On the outskirts of Khartoum state, among acacia trees near the confluence of the two Niles, Aisha Abdullah collected firewood and described the choices now facing families.

“We used to rely on cooking gas, but the price of a cylinder has risen to about 90,000 Sudanese pounds, around $22.50, and we can no longer afford it,” she said. “We have no option left but firewood to cook food. We know that cutting trees harms the environment, but how can a family live without food?”

In Gezira state, Salah al-Tayeb said economic hardship has pushed many people toward the forests.

“The price of a sack of charcoal has reached about 105,000 Sudanese pounds, around $26.25, which is beyond the means of most families,” he said. “That is why firewood has become the only available option for many people to meet their daily needs.”

Saadia Abdullah, a tea seller on Nile Street in Omdurman, said the war has upended her work as fuel prices climbed and incomes fell.

“I used to use gas and charcoal in my work normally, but prices have become beyond our capacity,” she said. “Today I rely on firewood so I can prepare tea and continue working under these difficult conditions.”

Accelerating environmental damage

Moussa Suleiman Moussa, director general of the National Forestry Corporation, said forests have become an emergency energy source during the war because of power cuts and shortages of cooking gas.

Official data show about 60% of acacia forests in Gezira state have deteriorated, along with 45% in Sennar state. Other states have been affected to varying degrees.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Moussa said Sudan’s forest area is estimated at about 30 million feddans after South Sudan’s secession in 2011, equal to around 12.5% of the country’s area. Plans had aimed to raise that figure to 25% , but the war halted that path and accelerated the depletion.

Bishra Hamed, former head of the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources in Khartoum state, said Sudan’s environmental resources are facing a “wide and multifaceted assault” as the effects of war intersect with economic, social and security crises.

He said the weakened role of the state and declining law enforcement have allowed the firewood, charcoal and timber trade to expand. Modern methods are being used to cut trees and move them quickly through networks operating inside and outside the country.

“Between 70% and 80% of the population depends directly on natural resources for their livelihoods, whether through farming, herding or firewood production. This makes environmental degradation a direct threat to economic and social stability in a country already suffering from structural fragility,” he said.

Hamed also warned that unregulated mining inside forests and natural reserves is deepening the crisis by stripping more vegetation and polluting soil and water, creating complex environmental challenges that will be hard to contain in the near term.

Environmental expert Awad Mohammed Siddig said the damage goes beyond temporary resource consumption. It amounts to the rapid dismantling of an entire ecosystem.

He said the loss of vegetation strips soil of its ability to retain moisture and allows desertification to spread in already fragile areas, while habitats disappear and biodiversity declines.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Siddig said rural communities are paying the price directly through falling agricultural production, weaker protection from advancing sand and disruption to the water cycle.

Climate and environmental expert Noureldin Ahmed said forests are among Sudan’s most important natural resources because they help moderate the climate, protect soil and provide food and shelter for millions of living organisms.

He said wide areas have become barren after once serving as a natural lung that supplied oxygen and reduced the effects of desertification and climate change. He warned that the continued deterioration of vegetation cover threatens to multiply Sudan’s climate and humanitarian crises.

Mounting economic losses

Forestry expert Talaat Dafallah said the loss of dense vegetation contributes to rising temperatures and weakens the local environment’s ability to absorb carbon emissions.

He said the damage is also draining vital resources such as timber and gum arabic, with annual losses in the forestry sector estimated at about $500 million because of illegal tree cutting.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dafallah said the immediate priority is to reduce household dependence on firewood by providing cooking gas where possible, expanding the use of improved stoves and supporting solar energy in neighborhoods and displacement centers.

The damage has not stopped at the natural environment. It has reached key economic sectors. In Kordofan, one of the world’s most important gum arabic producing regions, production chains have been badly hit, affecting millions of people who depend on the sector as a main source of income.

With the war dragging on and state institutions retreating, Sudan’s environment is facing a real existential challenge. Depletion is accelerating without protection or recovery plans, while environmental, economic and humanitarian losses deepen day by day, raising the prospect of long-term consequences that could affect generations to come.