DEIR al-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas said Friday it has given a "positive" response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but said further talks were needed. It was not clear if Hamas' statement meant it had accepted the proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire.
Hamas says it has given a ‘positive’ response to the latest ceasefire proposal in Gaza, but says further talks needed
DEIR al-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas said Friday it has given a "positive" response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but said further talks were needed on implementation.
It was not clear if Hamas' statement meant it had accepted the proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire. Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war, now nearly 21 months old. Trump has been pushing hard for a deal to be reached, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House next week to discuss a deal.
The Hamas statement came as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking aid.
The U.N. human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, it said.