PALESTINE – Hamas has denied claims that it rejected the American proposal for a Gaza ceasefire adding that the group responded positively and responsibly, accusing Israel of undermining any efforts to end the Gaza war.
“We agreed with Mr. Witkoff last week on a proposal that he considered acceptable as a proposal for negotiation. We received the other party’s response, which did not agree with any of the items we agreed upon and did not meet the minimum requirements of our people,” senior Hamas member Basem Naim said in a statement.
He said Hamas responded “positively and responsibly” to Witkoff’s proposal to ensure Israel’s respect for a 60-day ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid.
“We also sought to ensure that the negotiations would lead to an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli forces,” Naim added.
The Hamas leader said Israel has refused to give guarantees to ensure respect for the 60-day ceasefire and access to humanitarian aid.
Naim said Israel “wants to negotiate the withdrawal maps agreed upon on Jan. 19 based on the occupation’s new military presence.”
“(Israel refuses) to give guarantees that the war will cease and that enemy forces will withdraw at the end of the negotiations,” he added.
Hamas Urges UN Investigation on Israeli Mass Killing at an Aid Distribution Point
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas called on the UN on Sunday to form an independent international commission to investigate Israeli killings of civilians seeking humanitarian aid in the enclave.
At least 50 civilians were killed and over 200 others injured when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians seeking aid in al-Mawasi, west of Rafah city in southern Gaza, early Sunday.
“This massacre confirms the fascist nature of the (Israeli) occupation and its criminal objectives behind this aid mechanism,” Hamas said in a statement.
Israel “is using aid centers under its control as traps to lure innocent starving people to practice the most heinous forms of killing, humiliation, and torture against them.”
Israel has crafted a plan to establish four aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza, which Israeli media say aim to evacuate Palestinians from northern Gaza into the south.
According to Israel’s Army Radio, Israel’s aid distribution plan aims to turn the territory’s north into a “completely depopulated area.”
Hamas held Israel and the US responsible for the bloodshed of aid seekers in Gaza.
“We call on the UN to form an international independent committee of inquiry and to enter into Gaza to investigate these systematic crimes against civilians and hold those responsible accountable as war criminals,” it added.
It also called for “urgent” and “binding” UN decisions “to force the Israeli army to halt this bloody mechanism” and open Gaza’s border crossings immediately “to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid via UN mechanisms.”