Hamas and PIJ submit response to UN-backed Gaza ceasefire plan

Qatari, Egyptian mediators say they will ‘examine the response’ after Hamas says it will ‘deal positively’ with plan.

Hamas has responded to a US-backed proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and an exchange of captives for prisoners with some “remarks” on the plan, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have said.

Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group said in a joint statement on Tuesday that they were ready to “deal positively to arrive at an agreement” and that their priority is to bring a “complete stop” to Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen television channel that the group had “submitted some remarks on the proposal to the mediators”. He did not give any details.

“The Hamas response reaffirmed the group’s stance [that] any agreement must end the Zionist aggression on our people, get the Israeli forces out, reconstruct Gaza and achieve a serious prisoners swap deal,” a Hamas official told Reuters news agency.

The foreign ministries of Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement that they were examining the response and that they would continue their mediation efforts along with the United States “until an agreement is reached”.