Hamas, who is committed to the January 19th agreement, has been actively engaged with mediators as of last week. After Hamas accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal a week ago on March 29th 2025, “israel” responded with an unacceptable counterproposal that Hamas rejected. Less than 24 hours ago, Egypt proposed a new offer to bridge the differences between the original and the counterproposal.
After the agreement’s collapse, IOF military operations significantly expanded, with new ground operations in at least 4 areas of the Gaza Strip (Shuja’iyya, Khirbet Al-Adas, Rafah, east of “Netzarim”), coinciding with intense bombing campaigns.
The Egyptian-Qatari proposal that Hamas accepted stipulated a 50-day ceasefire, the release of 5 living “israeli” captives (1 every 10 days), release of 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, and release of 2,000 Gazan detainees. It also stipulated the withdrawal of the IOF from areas occupied since March 19th, opening of crossings, significant influx of aid, freedom of movement, and that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would take place—and conclude—during the 50-day truce period.
Hamas awaited the zionist response, but “israel” came back with a new proposal (in coordination with the US) requiring the release of 11 living captives (including one zionist-American soldier “for free”), release of 16 captive bodies, and a 40-day ceasefire (the “Witkoff Proposal”). This would be in exchange for 120 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, 160 bodies of martyrs, and 1,111 Gazan detainees. However, the deal also imposed the disarmament of Hamas and the non-withdrawal of the IOF from Gaza—completely unacceptable conditions—in addition to the exile of Hamas leadership from Gaza. Further, the counterproposal stipulated that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would begin after the end of the ceasefire period (and would depend on the “disarmament of Hamas” and presence of IOF in Gaza), in contrast to Hamas’ request that the negotiations conclude before the end of it.
Hamas did not respond to the offer, which imposed conditions it previously announced were unacceptable.
With the escalation of the bombing, Abu Obeida released a statement yesterday that half of the living zionist captives are in areas that the IOF has ordered to be evacuated. Al-Qassam stated that they will not transfer these captives from these areas, placing them at increased risk and putting the responsibility for their lives in Netanyahu’s hands. Out of 59 captives still in Gaza, about 24 are believed to still be alive, from originally 251 captives.
In an unexpected development, Netanyahu announced that he will meet with Donald Trump on Monday, after Washington’s invitation. Netanyahu announced that they will discuss tariffs, as well as the Iranian and Turkish threats to the zionist entity. The meeting is taking place amidst increasing pressure on Netanyahu, including “Qatargate” and growing internal protests.
French President Emmanuel Macron also announced that he will arrive in Cairo at the invitation of Egyptian President El-Sisi for a tripartite meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah about the Gaza Strip.
Phase 1 of the violated three-phase ceasefire agreement began at 8:30 AM on January 19th and ended on March 1st. Negotiations for Phase 2—which guaranteed a permanent ceasefire, complete IOF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and prisoner exchange—were supposed to take place during Phase 1, so that Phase 2 could be implemented after March 1. These talks collapsed due to “israeli” violations, intransigence, and non-adherence to previously agreed terms. The IOF also established the new “Morag” Corridor to split Rafah from Khan Younis and reasserted control of “Netzarim.”
In the meantime, Hamas also submitted the list of names of the 10-15 members of the Community Support Committee for the administration of the Gaza Strip last week.
As of April 5th 2025, there are no signs of a breakthrough, but relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip continues.
Source: Resistance News Network