Hamas reviews ceasefire proposal, demands complete Israeli withdrawal

The Palestinian group Hamas says it is reviewing a ceasefire proposal from mediators and that it seeks an agreement that will lead to the end of the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which are demands that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long rejected.

An official of Hamas named Taher Al-Nunu has said that the militant group was "ready and serious" regarding reaching an agreement, Al Jazeera reported.

However, the Palestinian group has stopped short of accepting a United States-backed proposal announced by US President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.

The official was also cited by Arab News as saying that Hamas was "ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war".

A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, according to an Egyptian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn't authorized to discuss the talks with the media.

But Hamas' response, which emphasized its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialize into an actual pause in fighting.

Throughout the nearly 21-month-long war, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any deal.

Hamas has said that it's willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, less than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

Israel says it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and exiles itself, something the group refuses to do.

On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that Israel had "agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War."

"I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE," he said.

Al Jazeera reported that more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in just five weeks while waiting for food parcels at the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites.