GAZA, (PIC)
Unnamed sources have revealed new details on the response of Hamas Movement to mediators regarding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.
The sources told Al-Jazeera that Hamas agreed to the proposed framework of a three-phase ceasefire, each lasting for 42 days.
Hamas, however, demanded the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces to areas parallel/close to the fence separating 1948 Occupied Palestine from besieged Gaza in the first stage and demanded the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip and the guarantee of their freedom of movement.
In the second phase, Hamas demanded that a permanent ceasefire be reached before any exchange of prisoners, and that the Israeli occupation army must leave the Strip entirely.
Regarding the exchange of prisoners, Hamas demanded that for the release of every Israeli civilian captive, Israel must release 30 Palestinian detainees.
Besides, Hamas demanded that for every Israeli female soldier, Israel must release 50 Palestinian detainees, including 30 who have been sentenced to 25 years or more, adding that Israel must remove all restrictions that have been imposed on Palestinian prisoners since October 7.
The Movement stressed that the third phase must include a commitment to end the Israeli siege on Gaza and the start of rebuilding the destroyed Strip.
Hamas had announced on Saturday evening that it had handed over to mediators in Egypt and Qatar its response to the proposal it received last Monday, expressing its readiness to conclude a “serious and real prisoner exchange deal between the two parties.”
Hamas also reiterated, in a press statement, its adherence to its demands and the demands of the Palestinian people, which include: “A permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas and places of residence, the intensification of relief and aid entry and the start of reconstruction.”
