Israel-Gaza war: Hamas responds to request for ceasefire in Gaza

Hamas said it has given its answer to a plan for a new truce in Gaza.

The information about the deal made by Israel, the US, Qatar and Egypt has not been shared yet.

It was said before that there would be a six-week break, during which more Israeli hostages would be swapped for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and the US are looking at what Hamas said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in the Middle East, said he will talk about what Hamas said with officials in Israel on Wednesday.

Mr Blinken hasn’t said how the US feels about the response, but President Joe Biden thinks it’s too much, which means the Israeli leaders might not agree to what the group wants easily.

A top member of Hamas told the media that the group gave a good idea in response to the plan but wanted some changes about rebuilding Gaza, bringing people back to their homes, and helping those who had to leave.

The official said that Hamas wanted to change how injured people are treated, including sending them back home and moving them to hospitals in other countries.

The plan was sent to Hamas about a week ago. A person from Hamas told the Reuters news agency that they didn’t respond until Tuesday because they found some parts of the plan confusing.

The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al Thani, thinks that Hamas has responded in a good way.

The fighting in Gaza started when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7th. About 1,300 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

More than 27,500 people have died in Gaza. Gaza has been controlled by Hamas and blocked by Israel and Egypt since 2007.

Hamas is banned as a terrorist group in many countries.

For a week in late November, a break in fighting allowed 105 Israeli and foreign people who were being held captive to be released. In return, 240 Palestinians who were in Israeli jails were also set free.

The Israeli military is working on finding Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. This might make it difficult to make a new deal at this time.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a lot of pressure from people in his own country to make sure the rest of the hostages are released.

The situation in the region is getting worse, which makes Mr. Blinken feel like he needs to move quickly to make progress on the deal when he goes to Tel Aviv.

The US is trying hard to stop a situation from getting worse after a drone strike killed three American soldiers in Jordan last week.

Washington launched air attacks against militia groups in Syria and Iraq that are supported by Iran. They are also saying that there may be more attacks in the future.

The US thinks that a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is the best way to reduce tensions in surrounding areas.

On Tuesday, Israel said that 31 out of the 136 hostages in Gaza were found dead.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who speaks for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said that the families of the captives had been told and that the authorities will keep working to bring back the rest of the captives.

Mr Hagari said that we have a duty to do what is right, not just in our country but also around the world. This is the direction we will keep following.