Hamas 'ready & serious' about ceasefire, but stops short of agreeing to latest US-backed deal

Hamas has responded to Qatar's Jul. 1 proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, but on the condition that the war in Gaza will come to a complete end.

On Jul. 2, Hamas' media official Taher al-Nunu said the militant group was "ready and serious regarding reaching an agreement".

However, he did not outrightly accept the U.S.-backed proposal that the 60 days will be used to work on ending the war.

Instead, he doubled down on Hamas' longstanding stance that any deal struck must bring the war to an end for good, AP News reported.

Hamas is “ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war", al-Nunu said.

Another meeting to take place in Cairo, Egypt

A meeting between a Hamas delegation and Egyptian and Qatari mediators is expected to take place in Cairo on Jul. 2 to discuss the proposal, an Egyptian official said, according to AP News.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Qatar and Egypt will deliver the final proposal.

According to Trump, Israel has accepted the conditions laid out in the ceasefire proposal on Jul. 1.

Trump had earlier warned Hamas to take the deal as "it will only get worse", he said in a post on Truth Social.

Many failed ceasefire attempts

Since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel and Hamas have repeatedly disagreed on how the war should end, AP News said.

Hamas has agreed to release the remaining Israeli hostages in its captivity, in exchange for Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza and a conclusive end of the war.

Israel, on the other hand, has only agreed to end the war when Hamas has surrendered, is disarmed and exiled, which Hamas has refused.

In May, Hamas also rejected an Israel-backed U.S. ceasefire proposal, which would see Hamas hand over 10 living and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, while Israel would release Palestinian prisoners.

Similarly, the basis of the rejection included a lack of a conclusive end to the war.

The latest ceasefire proposal includes partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and increase in humanitarian aid to the region, an Israeli official said in anonymity.

There will also be talks on a complete end to the war, but Israel does not intend to commit to it, the official said.

Top image via Ariel Schalit/AP News