Hamas wants to negotiate a “complete ceasefire” with Israel in the Gaza Strip before any agreement, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamist movement told AFP on Monday.
“We are talking above all about a complete and total ceasefire and not a temporary truce,” Taher al-Nounou, a senior Hamas official, said after a meeting in Paris this weekend between American officials, Israelis, Qataris and Egyptians to silence the guns in the Palestinian territory.
Once the fighting stops, "the rest of the details can be discussed", including the release of the hundred Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
A framework for a truce and the release of hostages must be transmitted to Hamas, the Prime Minister of Qatar announced in Washington.
But it was unclear Monday evening whether the Hamas official was responding to the framework or not.
Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, has led mediation efforts since war broke out on October 7 between Israel and Hamas, following an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian movement on Israeli soil.
“Notable progress” was made this week during talks in Paris, said the Qatari prime minister, speaking at an event organized by the US think tank Atlantic Council.
A framework for a truce
Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane Al-Thani announced that meetings with CIA Director William Burns and senior Israeli and Egyptian security officials had resulted in the development of a framework for a phased truce that would see women and children taken hostage be released first and humanitarian aid enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
The various parties “hope to convey this proposal to Hamas and get it to engage in a positive and constructive manner in the process,” he continued.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane Al-Thani said Hamas had “clearly requested” a “permanent ceasefire before negotiations,” adding that the current proposal “could lead to a permanent ceasefire in the future.” .