Report: Hamas demands end to Gaza siege in amendment to peace deal

Hamas has demanded the lifting of Israeli siege of Gaza and a full withdrawal of its troops from the territory as apart of the initial stage of a ceasefire proposal, a report says. 

The amendments submitted by Hamas to Egyptian and Qatari mediators earlier this week includes an end to the crippling blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007, London-based Middle East Eye said.

Hamas also demanded that Israeli troops fully withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip in the first phase of the ceasefire, including the Rafah crossing and the 14 km-long corridor along the territory’s border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor by the Israeli military.

The movement further omitted a clause that would allow Israel to dictate which prisoners could be released, and removed restrictions that Palestinians serving over 15 years could be freed as part of the deal, the report said.

In addition, Hamas asked that Russia, China and Turkey would serve as guarantors of the deal.

The initial proposal backed by Israel and the US listed Egypt, Qatar and the US as guarantors.

On Thursday, a top Hamas official said the movement demanded that it also be allowed to select a list of 100 Palestinian captives with long-term sentences that would be released from Israeli jails.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday considered some of the amendments proposed by Hamas as unworkable.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas mounted the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed about 37,300 Palestinians.

The three-phase deal proposed by the US calls for an initial six-week truce in Gaza that will be followed by negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.

But Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have said that they do not intend to stop the war until Hamas has been destroyed.

Poll: Support for armed struggle against Israel surges among Palestinians

Public support for Hamas and armed confrontation as the best means to end Israeli occupation has increased among Palestinians, a poll says.

‘Netanyahu hindering prisoner exchange deal’

Benny Gantz, who resigned from Israeli war cabinet on Sunday, said Netanyahu was obstructing a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza for personal political calculations.

“Netanyahu has made several decisions recently for personal and political reasons,” Anadolu Agency cited Gantz as saying in an interview with Israeli media.

“I have tried for several months to influence decisions within the War Cabinet for Israel’s benefit, but to no avail,” he added.

The Israeli opposition says Netanyahu is prolonging the war because he believes his “political future” will end when it stops, potentially leading to trials regarding past corruption charges.

Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three cases filed in 2019.

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