Gaza Negotiations 2025: Hamas Agrees and Mediators Call for Improvements

Palestinian sources have reported that Hamas has submitted its final response to the ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip, confirming its preliminary agreement, while the decision is now in the hands of Israel.

The sources added that Hamas' response included comments on the mechanism for providing aid, withdrawal steps, and ensuring a permanent cessation of war, indicating that the response has been handed over to the mediators and has not yet been presented to the Israeli side.

The Qatari and Egyptian mediators have urged Hamas to make "a set of improvements" to its response to make it positive and allow the negotiations to continue, as Israel is not satisfied with the response so far.

The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" quoted an informed source as saying that the response was not satisfactory and that there is a major disagreement over the extent of the Israeli forces' withdrawal from the areas reoccupied during the recent operations in Gaza.

Israeli sources have confirmed that most points of contention have been resolved, and Tel Aviv expects a response from Hamas within the next few hours or at the latest tomorrow, expressing cautious optimism that the deal is close, provided that both sides show some flexibility.

The "New York Times" revealed that the deal will include the release of 10 living Israeli detainees and the transfer of 18 wounded individuals, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, to be implemented in five stages during a 60-day ceasefire.

The newspaper explained that Hamas will be asked to refrain from holding filmed ceremonies for the release of prisoners, as was the case in a previous agreement.

However, Hamas has not issued an official response to the proposal submitted about a week ago, while the mediators' efforts in Cairo and Doha continue to bridge the gap and finalize the deal as soon as possible.