Hamas said early on Tuesday Israel’s proposal that it received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators did not meet any of the demands of Palestinian factions.
However, the group added in a statement it would study the proposal, which it described as “intransigent”, and deliver its response to the mediators.
A Hamas official told Reuters on Monday that the group has rejected the Israeli ceasefire proposal made at talks in Cairo, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a date was set for an invasion of Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians.
Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday for talks that included Qatari and Egyptian mediators as well as CIA Director William Burns.
Burn’s presence underlined rising pressure from Israel’s main ally the US for a deal that would free Israeli hostages held in Gaza and get aid to Palestinian civilians left destitute by six months of conflict.
But senior Hamas official Ali Baraka told Reuters: “We reject the latest Israeli proposals that the Egyptian side informed us of. The politburo met today and decided this.”
Another Hamas official had earlier told Reuters that no progress had been made in the negotiations. “There is no change in the position of the occupation (Israel) and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks,” the Hamas official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
