Israel has agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during Ramadan and Passover, following a proposal by the US President's Special Envoy Steven Witkoff. This was reported by the office of the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Israel accepts the plan proposed by the US Presidential Envoy Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover. On the first day of the plan, half of the living and deceased hostages will be released, and at the end, if an agreement on a permanent ceasefire is reached, the remaining hostages, both living and deceased, will be released",
the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated.
It has been emphasized that the US special envoy proposed this ceasefire plan because it is currently impossible to bring the parties' positions closer to ending the war and additional time is needed for negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.
In addition to this, the Office drew attention to the fact that the radical Hamas movement still rejects this plan. If Hamas changes its position and accepts the US envoys proposal, Israel will immediately begin negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan, the Office clarified.
Hamas has responded to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office statement. The movement's spokesman, Mahmoud Mardawi, accused Israel of evading the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the enclave.
He added that "continued Israeli manipulations" will not return the prisoners to their families, but on the contrary, will put their lives in danger. The Hamas representative also named the only possible way to implement the agreement. According to him, this is the beginning of the implementation of the second phase, which includes a ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of troops and the Gaza Strip's reconstruction.
