Hamas rejects Israel's offer of a one-week truce, alarm sounds near Gaza border after lull

Hamas rejects Israel's offer of a one-week truce, alarm sounds near Gaza border after lull

Kyiv  •  UNN

December 21 2023, 07:25 AM • 24100 views

Hamas rejected Israel's offer of a one-week ceasefire for the release of hostages, demanding an immediate ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners. Tensions remain high: after a 40-hour lull, an air raid warning was sounded near the Gaza border.

Hamas militants have rejected Israel's proposal to cease hostilities for one week in order to release the hostages. Meanwhile, on Thursday morning, an air raid alarm sounded near the border with Gaza after a 40-hour lull, an air raid alarm was sounded. This was reported by UNN reports with reference to The Wall Street Journal and The Times of Israel.

Details

Egyptian officials told The Wall Street Journal that Hamas said, that the group will not discuss the release of its Israeli prisoners until the ceasefire comes into effect.

For the first time, representatives of the of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second largest Palestinian militant group operating in the Gaza Strip. This group also stated that Israel must cease fire before negotiations can begin and that Israel must release all thousands of its Palestinian prisoners in exchange for more than 100 hostages who remain in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday that a pause in the fighting in in exchange for the release of hostages is "something we would very much like to see to see happen."

According to Egyptian officials, in the offer rejected by Hamas, Israel had sought the release of 40 hostages, including all remaining women and children remaining women and children abducted from Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks and elderly male hostages in need of urgent medical care. Instead. the Israeli military will suspend ground and air operations in Gaza for a week and allow the delivery of humanitarian week and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, Egyptian officials said.

Addendum

After failed negotiations, according to The Times of Israel, on Thursday morning, after 40 hours of calm, an air raid was sounded near the Gaza border. The sirens were heard in the village of Nirim, located near the border with Gaza.

This is apparently the first rocket to be fired from Gaza in almost 40 hours, which is the longest pause in rocket fire since October 7, not counting the week-long ceasefire last month

- writes The Times of Israel.

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