Hamas Agrees to Ceasefire Proposal, Israel Still Thinking About It

GAZA, SUNDAY — The Hamas group and the Israeli government, Sunday (30/3/2025), were reported to have accepted a new ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar. Hamas stated that they accepted the proposal with several conditions. Meanwhile, Israel declared that further consultations with the United States were still necessary. At the same time, Israel continued to carry out military operations in the Gaza region.

"Two days ago, we received a proposal from our mediator brothers in Egypt and Qatar. We responded positively and approved it. We hope that the occupation (Israel) will not undermine it," said Khalil al-Haya, Deputy Head of Hamas Political Bureau.

According to a report from the Israeli media outlet, The Times of Israel, Egypt and Qatar proposed the release of five living hostages by Hamas in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire. This would be followed by the release of Palestinian detainees held by Israel and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.

According to another Israeli media outlet, Walla, one of the additional points proposed by Egypt was the return of the bodies of Israeli hostages who died during the first phase of the ceasefire. However, Hamas instead offered to release a number of hostages who are still alive.

One of the hostages to be released is Edan Alexander, a young man holding dual citizenship of the US and Israel. The US government, according to New Arab, is reported to have been involved in drafting the proposal.

Even so, this ceasefire proposal does not align with the wishes of the Israeli government, which is the release of 10-11 hostages who are still alive.

An Egyptian government official familiar with the negotiations stated that the ball is now in the hands of the Israeli and U.S. governments. "Cairo is striving to ensure that all parties, including Washington, urge Israel to make tangible concessions that will guarantee the achievement of an agreement," he said.

The Israeli prime minister's office confirmed that it had received the proposal and said it had begun consulting with the US government on its substance.

After the first phase of the ceasefire ended on March 2, 2025, the Israeli government supported the proposal of the US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff who proposed an extension until April 20, 2025 or until Passover. The compensation would be the release of one hostage every week.

Witkoff's proposal states that on the first day of the extension of the ceasefire, half of the total of about 59 hostages still in the hands of the Hamas Group, alive or dead, will be released. After that, the other hostages will be released if a permanent ceasefire has been agreed.

The proposal makes no mention of talks on a second phase of ceasefire negotiations, which were supposed to begin at least a week before the first phase of the ceasefire was due to end.

The Hamas and Israel Group Agreement, the ceasefire in Gaza is divided into three stages, namely stages I, II and III. In the first stage which lasted 42 days, starting from January 19, 2025, 33 hostages were released by Hamas and returned to Israel. This includes eight hostage bodies. The compensation is the release of 2,000 Palestinian prisoners imprisoned by Israel.

As with phase I, in phases II and III, the parties must go through a negotiation process and reach an agreement first, although the time plan remains the same, namely 42 days. In phase II, the remaining Hamas hostages were returned to Israel. At the same time, Israel also withdrew all its troops from the Gaza region and stopped conducting military operations permanently. Palestinians were also released according to the agreed number.

In the third phase, which is also projected to last 42 days, all the bodies of the hostages will be returned to Israel. In turn, all Palestinians who were detained will be released.

In this phase, it is also said that Gaza will begin the rehabilitation process and provide compensation to affected residents under international supervision. (Kompas.id, 2/27/2025). However, the reality is that the parties have never held talks to move towards phase II of the ceasefire as agreed.

Hayya stated that Israel and the US's desire for Hamas' military capabilities to be lost through disarmament will never happen. Disarmament cannot be carried out by Hamas, Hayya said, as long as Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory continues.

Israeli military brutality continues. Since Israel launched another military attack on March 18, hundreds of civilians have been killed, including children. In addition, medical personnel have also been targeted.

As of Saturday (3/29/2025), the fate of the nine medical personnel who are members of the Red Crescent is still unknown. A week earlier, the Israeli military attacked an ambulance used by medical personnel. The Israeli military admitted that they had attacked an ambulance that was passing through the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, Rafah, on the grounds that the vehicle was suspicious. One medical member in question was confirmed dead in the attack.

The Red Crescent in a statement accused Israeli authorities of obstructing the search operation. "For the seventh consecutive day, the fate of nine Palestinian Red Crescent EMTs remains unknown after they were surrounded and targeted by Israeli forces in Rafah," it said.

"We condemn Israel's deliberate obstruction of the search efforts and hold (Israel) fully responsible for the lives of our team members," the statement added.

The International Red Cross expressed concern over the incident. "Information and access are essential to ensure the safe return of these humanitarian workers to their families," the agency said in a statement.

According to the UN, at least 1,060 health workers were killed throughout the Hamas-Israel war.

On Friday (3/28/2025), the Red Crescent said they found the body of the team leader and the vehicle that was the target of the Israeli military attack, an ambulance, and a fire engine. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the vehicles were in a state of being destroyed into piles of scrap metal.

"The deliberate killing of rescue workers -- who are protected under international humanitarian law -- is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime," said Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim. (AP/AFP/Reuters)