Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, made it clear to the mediators in the hostage deal negotiations that “Hamas will not surrender its guns or sign a proposal that asks for that,” according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday.
According to the report, Sinwar emphasized that Hamas would agree to the deal, only if Israel committed to a permanent ceasefire.
In addition, on Wednesday, the terror group distributed a memorandum to the Palestinian factions after reviewing Biden's agreement which stated that "it turns out that US President Joe Biden's agreement does not lay the right foundations for the required agreement," according to report by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). They claimed that the document does not guarantee a permanent ceasefire, and it is not closely related to the three established stages.
The reason for this, according to them, is that "the goal is to disrupt the agreement, make the cessation of war temporary and allow Israeli forces to continue to remain in the Gaza Strip. There are positive points, and there are certainly many negative points that we are still examining. It seems that part of what was said in Biden's speech may be an interpretation on his part and it certainly did not come with Israel's approval," said Abdel Rahman Shadid, a senior Hamas spokesperson who was freed in the Gilad Shalit deal.
He added that the agreement allows Israel to "obtain the hostages they are interested in," and then resume the war. Spealing with SANA, Shadid said, "Until this moment, Hamas has not given its approval or rejection regarding the proposal. We are still in the consultation process, and we will present our point of view or our proposal in the coming days."
World leaders pressure Hamas
The reports come amid the White House's joint announcement together with Brazil, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria and Canada in which they called on Israel and Hamas to take final steps for a hostage deal.
In the announcement it was stated that the signatory countries support a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and the adoption of the Biden outline. Meanwhile, an Egyptian source told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, "Cairo has received positive signals from Hamas indicating its desire for a ceasefire."
"As leaders of countries deeply concerned about the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including many of our own citizens, we fully support the move toward a ceasefire and hostage release that is now on the table, as outlined by President Biden on May 31, 2024. There is no time to lose."
"We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens," the leaders wrote.
Earlier on Thursday, the Saudi news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Hamas rejected Israel's proposal for a hostage deal. In the memorandum distributed by Hamas, the terrorist organization claims that the Israeli proposal is fundamentally different from the one presented last week by Biden.
One of the senior members of the terrorist organization, Sami Abu Zuhri, recently repeated this claim, according to which Israel is interested in the return of the hostages, and immediately afterwards continue the war.