Hamas said on Saturday it had officially responded to a ceasefire plan put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who represents President Donald Trump in Middle East diplomacy. The group said its reply includes a key demand: a complete end to the war.
According to Hamas, the deal proposes a prisoner exchange—ten living hostages and 18 bodies for a yet-unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. The statement echoed Witkoff’s earlier framework, which Israeli media reported had already been accepted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The group said its stance was reached after “a round of national consultations.” The response stops short of demanding changes to the proposal, though a Palestinian official told Reuters that minor amendments were sought, while the overall reply remains positive.
The Israeli prime minister’s office has not commented publicly on Hamas’s response. But earlier this week, Netanyahu reportedly told hostage families that Israel had accepted the deal.
Previous efforts to halt fighting in Gaza have failed due to deep disagreements. Israel demands Hamas disarm and release all 58 remaining hostages before any ceasefire. Hamas rejects those terms and insists on a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
The coming days will test whether this proposal breaks the deadlock, or becomes another stalled attempt.
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Afghanistan and Indonesia have agreed to deepen economic and trade cooperation, with Jakarta announcing plans to establish a new Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kabul.
A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court’s temporary ban preventing immigration-related arrests in Los Angeles without probable cause, rejecting the Trump administration’s request to lift the order.
Plastic pollution is causing more than $1.5 trillion in health-related economic damage each year and is linked to illness and death throughout the human lifespan, according to a new review published in 'The Lancet' on Sunday.
Swiss luxury watch stocks fell sharply on Monday after the U.S. imposed a 39% import tariff, raising fears of a sharp sales decline in their biggest market.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
Iran has lifted all remaining airspace restrictions imposed during its 12-day conflict with Israel, restoring full domestic and international flight operations.
Hamas on Saturday firmly denied that it was willing to disarm, contradicting remarks made by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff during his meeting with Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv.
Around 250,000 tonnes of freight were transported via the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway in the first seven months of this year. The information was disclosed to journalists by Kadir Bozan, Chairman of the Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Kazakhstan's economy expanded by 5% in 2024, outpacing the earlier forecast of 4.8%, according to the Ministry of National Economy.
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