Senior Hamas leader says group is 'ready' for Gaza ceasefire, urges Trump to 'pressure' Israel

A SENIOR HAMAS official today said the group is “ready for a ceasefire” in Gaza and urged US President-elect Donald Trump to “pressure” Israel to “end the aggression”.

“Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if a ceasefire proposal is presented and on the condition that it is respected” by Israel, Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP.

“We call on the US administration and Trump to pressure the Israeli government to end the aggression.

“Hamas informed the mediators that it is in favour of any proposal submitted to it that would lead to a definitive ceasefire and military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, allowing the return of displaced people, a serious deal for a prisoner exchange, the entry of humanitarian aid and reconstruction,” Naim added.

The demands are the same ones Hamas has made in successive rounds of ceasefire negotiations since the start of the war.

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On the campaign trail, Trump promised peace in the Middle East but has vowed to give freer rein to Israel.

Naim’s comments come after Qatar said on Saturday that it had suspended its role as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until Hamas and Israel show “seriousness” in talks.

The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the war triggered by the Palestinian group’s attack on Israel on 7 October last year.

The health ministry in Gaza today said that at least 43,764 people have been killed in the last 13 months.

The death toll includes 28 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 103,490 people have also been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

The 7 October attack resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

- © AFP 2024