Hamas responds to ceasefire proposal, reiterates demands

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

Hamas said it has submitted a response to the latest ceasefire proposal by U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators on Saturday, reiterating its key demands.

Hamas' key demands are "to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the continuous flow of humanitarian aid," according to the group.

[snip]

Hamas said its hostage exchange proposal would involve the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff stated that he received Hamas's response to the U.S. proposal, describing it as "completely unacceptable." Witkoff insisted that Hamas agree to the U.S. framework proposal before the talks.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/hamas-responds-ceasefire-proposal-reiterates-demands/story?id=122382953

[Orrex]

1. It's difficult to bargain with well-funded terrorists

[moniss]

2. Netanyahu has

reiterated many times he will not stop attacking no matter what, he will never withdraw troops no matter what and aid will flow at his discretion on a permanent basis. As I said long ago that because of his stance on those three things there is little reason for any group to think this is anything but a demand for unconditional surrender. They should all just stop this BS dance about "deals" that's gone on for nearly 2 years this time and say it for what it is.

The world has largely sat back and given soft condemnation to the slaughter and will not really take any meaningful steps. They are too afraid of political blow-back and being called names. A meaningful step would be for several EU countries to expel the Israeli ambassadors and withdraw theirs from Israel while at the same time putting an immediate freeze on funds transfers from support groups in their countries that raise money for any of the combatant groups including Israel. But even this fairly tepid step is too much for them to consider and so we just get words, words, words and more words.

[wyn borkins]

4. Four More Words: I Agree With You (!!!) (n/t)

[Igel]

12. He was clearer than that.

Early on, days after 10-7, he said that the goals included disarming Gaza and abolishing Hamas.

"Unconditional surrender" plus.

[kelly1mm]

3. So, basically, they did not accept the US proposal while the Israelis did. nt

[Bayard]

5. Those two demands sound pretty reasonable to me

Get out of our country. Let us have food and medicine.

[AZLD4Candidate]

6. Oct 7th, they invaded Israel and killed unarmed Israeli citizens at a music festival, took hostages,

brutalized and butchered them, and now that Israel has responded to the action the Hamas elected government did, the Hamas elected government wants conditions?

I wonder if that would have worked with Japan in 1945. They attacked us and we brought them to brink of destruction. To end the war, the Japanese put conditions on their surrender.

WTF world am I in?

[Bayard]

7. Yes, Hamas did that

And Palestinians have paid for it a thousand times over now. When you enter the realm of war crimes, genocide, and outright land theft, its time to stop and be held to account.

Netanyahu and Putin have both won all expense paid trips to The Hague.

[cabotnn22]

9. An estimated 2,000,000 German civilians died in WW2

War is horrific. Innocent people die. Hamas started this by entering Israel and killing unarmed people. Hamas can end this by releasing ALL the hostages and surrendering. Interesting you don't say that the leaders of Hamas have an all expense paid trip to the Hague as well. I've yet to see a critic of Israel call for the leaders of Hamas to be tried for war crimes. Fascinating.

This is not going to end until every hostage is released - full stop. The ball is in Hamas's court. FYI, its leaders are on record as saying they don't care if Palestinians die. People in Gaza are actively protesting against Hamas. Useful idiots in the west defend Hamas.

[Bayard]

16. I agree that Hamas leaders should also be on that plane

But the latest numbers I see are 54,700 Palestinians and 1,706 Israelis dead (not counting another 14K believed to be buried under rubble.) That sounds pretty disproportionate to me. 70% of Palestinian dead are women and children.

Along with war casualties, WHO says:
"The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death. This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time."
https://www.who.int/news/item/12-05-2025-people-in-gaza-starving--sick-and-dying-as-aid-blockade-continues

This is a war crime.

[AZLD4Candidate]

17. Maybe Hamas should have thought of that before they attacked a music festival

I love the but statement. . .yes, I agree, but look at the evil bloodthirsty Israelis.

Israeli blood is spilled, Israel is at fault
Israelis spill blood after being attacked, Israel is fault.

I'll go back in time. I guess what Japan went through after attacking us, pretty much being leveled to the ground, was our fault too.

[AZLD4Candidate]

13. Hirohito never saw the Hague and his army killed 28 million Chinese civilians, including 300,000 in Nanjing

And again. .Bibi. No mention of Hamas leaders going to The Hague.

Again, Israel is always wrong. . .Hamas are the victims.

[Bayard]

18. This is an informative article:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/05/30/but-hamas/

[AZLD4Candidate]

19. Wow. . .an op-ed piece by someone raising money for the supporters that celebrated on the streets of Gaza

Oct 7th the day Oct 7th happened published a book slamming Israel by the only Palestinian publishing company.

I guess when I want to read a book or Op-Ed on race relations, I'll go but The Bell Curve by Charles Murray and go to The Pioneer Fund for backing.

[Beastly Boy]

8. "You will only get hostages back if you leave us free to take more hostages and feed us while we torture them"

sounds reasonable to you?

Ok...

[cabotnn22]

10. I find it fascinating that the anti-Israel side

Doesn't care about Sudan, where there is a real famine and genocide occurring. They don't care that Assad butchered over 500K Muslims. They don't care that Turkey is actively bombing the Kurds. They don't care that Christians and Druze were slaughtered in Syria. No Jews, no news.

[AZLD4Candidate]

14. They also don't care about Xinjiang and the brutalization of the Uyghurs in China

or the fact that North Koreans are the most brutalized people on Earth.

They pick and choose who gets their venom, and Israel will always get it

Makes one start to wonder why Israel gets it, but no other country with actual documented cases of imposed famine and genocide occur gets nary a look.

Your last sentence is something I've said for years.

[cabotnn22]

15. Exactly

When they don't criticize Turkey, Assad, etc. with the same viciousness that they do Israel, we know why. Jewish people do not need antisemitism explained to them, no more than a person of color needs racism explained to them. We know it when we see it.

[cabotnn22]

11. You don't get to attack a country and then demand they feed you and give you medicine

No country on earth is expected to feed an enemy who attacked them. Not one.