Naim said Hamas had received an official response from the Israeli side to the proposal, but said it failed to “to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people,” including an immediate cessation of hostilities. But he said Hamas was still considering the ceasefire proposal.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict.
Since then, more than 54,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
Meanwhile, aid groups have warned of a dire humanitarian situation in the enclave due to Israel’s offensive and 11-week-long blockade that barred the entry of food and medicine before it was lifted last week.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it a “nasty situation,” adding that “Oct. 7 was a very nasty day, the worst that I think I’ve ever seen.”
He told reporters the U.S. was getting food to Palestinian civilians, with a new system for aid distribution launched over the past week, led by the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
GHF began operations this week days after Israel lifted its blockade, despite criticism from humanitarian groups who warned that its operations undermined a long-running humanitarian framework in Gaza and risked compromising the independence of aid operations.
They also expressed significant concern over a plan laid out by Netanyahu to see aid distributed at sites in southern Gaza, effectively forcibly displacing Palestinians there.
In an update Friday, however, GHF said it planned to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, “in the weeks ahead.” The organization said it had so far distributed more than 2.1 million meals to Palestinians in the span of four days.
