Washington [US], May 27: US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff confirmed that Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip have not agreed to a ceasefire under the agreement he proposed, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a new statement about rescuing the hostages.
AFP news agency reported on May 27 that the US denied information that Hamas forces agreed to a ceasefire proposal in Gaza involving the return of 10 hostages in two stages and a 70-day ceasefire.
Earlier, a Hamas source said the group had "agreed to a new proposal" by US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff "which the movement received from intermediaries".
However, according to a report by Axios and confirmation from a spokesman for Mr. Witkoff, Hamas has not yet agreed to the above proposal from the US.
"White House envoy Steve Witkoff rejected Hamas' claim that the group had agreed to his proposal for a hostage swap and ceasefire," Axios reporter Barak Ravid wrote on social media X.
He went on to quote the US envoy as saying that "what I saw from Hamas was disappointing and completely unacceptable." When asked about the post, Mr Witkoff's spokesperson confirmed that "the Axios tweet is accurate."
The information was released in the context of Israel increasing attacks in the Palestinian territories, after many previous rounds of negotiations failed to achieve any breakthrough since the two-month ceasefire collapsed in mid-March.
On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on May 26 that he would bring all hostages back from Gaza, in the context of rescue forces in Gaza saying that an Israeli raid killed at least 52 people.
"If we don't achieve it today, it will be tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, it will be the day after. We will not give up," Netanyahu said of the need to rescue the hostages.
"We intend to bring them all back, both the living and the dead," he added, without mentioning any proposed deal.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper