Gaza City, December 6 — Hamas announced on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on a general framework for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In an official statement, Hamas said the framework includes the release of 10 Israeli hostages and several bodies in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, guaranteed by mediators. “We are awaiting a final response to this framework,” the group stated, adding that it is making significant efforts to halt the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The proposed agreement aims to ensure a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid, and the establishment of a professional committee to assume control of the Strip’s affairs immediately after the agreement is announced.
However, Steve Witkoff has denied that Hamas has accepted his proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to the Axios news site. Israel has not yet officially responded to the proposal, but Israeli media outlets have quoted officials saying that Israel rejects the framework and will not accept it.
Israeli Conditions for Ending the Conflict
Abdel Mohdy Motawe, executive director of the Cairo-based Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies and National Security, suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unlikely to end the war without meeting certain conditions. “Netanyahu rejects any idea of ending the conflict except on conditions: Hamas withdrawing from Gaza’s governance, disarming Gaza, and exiling Hamas leaders from the Strip,” Motawe told Xinhua.
Mokhtar Ghobashy, secretary-general of the Al-Farabi Center for Studies in Egypt, emphasized the lack of substantial international pressure on Israel. “The U.S. pressure on Israel is insufficient. Israel is exploiting the time frame and the regional context to pursue a dangerous, systematic approach for displacing Palestinians,” he said.
Humanitarian Aid Struggles to Reach Gaza
The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that two food distribution centers operated by private U.S. organizations have begun functioning in southern Gaza. This initiative followed more than 11 weeks of an Israeli blockade preventing humanitarian supplies from reaching the enclave. Limited aid shipments were allowed last week after UN experts warned of a growing famine.
Thousands of Palestinians crowded into a humanitarian aid distribution center in Rafah on Tuesday, leading to chaos and a breakdown of order on the site’s first day of operation under Israeli military oversight. The center, established by the U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), was intended to deliver food aid to a population facing severe shortages due to the blockade. However, residents overran the facility, seizing food parcels and dismantling parts of the barbed wire fencing.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, clarified at a press briefing in Geneva that the UN is not involved in the GHF’s operations in Gaza. “It is a distraction from what is actually needed,” Laerke said. “What is truly needed is the reopening of all crossing points into Gaza.”
