The Palestinian group Hamas has said that a recently proposed US-backed ceasefire framework “offers no guarantees” of ending Israel’s eight-month-long war on Gaza, as humanitarian conditions in the besieged enclave continue to deteriorate.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed the group had responded to the proposal, conveyed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but said the draft presented to them was “not the same” as the one agreed upon earlier.
“One week ago, we agreed with Mr Witkoff on a proposal which we considered a basis for negotiation,” said Naim. “However, instead of receiving Israel’s reply, a new version was presented to us—one that significantly diverges from the original terms and offers no guarantees for a permanent ceasefire.”
In a statement released earlier, Hamas said the new proposal calls for a ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid. As part of the arrangement, the group has offered to release 10 living Israeli hostages and return the bodies of 18 deceased individuals in exchange for an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners.
However, envoy Witkoff rejected Hamas’s response outright, calling it “totally unacceptable”. He urged Hamas to accept the original framework, which he said could lead to a 60-day ceasefire, the return of hostages, and proximity talks aimed at achieving a permanent truce.
“This is the only viable path forward,” Witkoff wrote on social media, adding that half of the remaining hostages—both living and deceased—could be returned to their families if the deal was accepted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, condemning the Hamas response and vowing to press ahead with military operations. “As Witkoff said, Hamas’s response is unacceptable and sets the situation back,” he said. “Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Mounting toll and looming famine
The death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ongoing Israeli blockade and the limited resumption of aid in mid-May have left the 2.3 million residents of Gaza on the brink of famine.
The United Nations reiterated on Friday that all of Gaza’s population is now facing acute food insecurity. In mid-May, the UN had already warned that one in five people in the Strip were experiencing starvation.
The World Food Programme (WFP), which has food stockpiles positioned near Gaza that could feed the entire population for two months, said an immediate ceasefire is the only way to ensure delivery. The agency reported that 77 trucks carrying flour entered Gaza on Friday, but the distribution was disrupted by desperate civilians.
“We are witnessing growing desperation,” the WFP said in a statement. “People are stopping aid trucks because they’re starving. This is not sustainable.”
Meanwhile, controversy surrounds the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed initiative for distributing aid. Several humanitarian groups have criticised the effort, saying it violates humanitarian principles by intertwining aid with military objectives. Gaza’s Government Media Office alleged this week that Israeli forces had killed at least 10 Palestinians during aid distribution operations.
Layla al-Masri, a displaced resident, expressed frustration over the situation. “What they are saying about their will to feed the people of Gaza are lies,” she said. “They neither feed people nor give them anything to drink.”
Abdel Qader Rabie, another displaced Palestinian, described the chaos surrounding the aid effort: “There’s no flour, no food, no bread. If you are strong, you get aid. If not, you leave empty-handed.”
Renewed bombardment and displacement
Israeli bombardment has continued across Gaza, with the territory’s civil defence reporting that nearly 60 homes were destroyed over the past two days in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
At least 20 Palestinians were reported killed in air strikes on Saturday, as Israel intensified its operations following the breakdown of ceasefire efforts. More than 3,900 Palestinians have died since Israel resumed its military campaign in March, after the collapse of an earlier truce.
In a separate development, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for residents in the southern Gaza areas of Khan Younis, Bani Suheila, and Abasan, declaring the region a “dangerous combat zone”.
Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that these areas had been used to launch rocket attacks and warned that the army would “aggressively attack” any such sites. He noted that civilians had been warned several times in the past to evacuate.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that nearly 200,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the past two weeks alone. The scale of displacement now encompasses all five governorates of Gaza, leaving families with nowhere to seek shelter or safety.
