Africa-Press – Cape verde. Both Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the families of hostages held by Hamas expressed hope for a possible ceasefire agreement this week.
The families of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip expressed hope that a potential ceasefire agreement could be announced this week.
“I hope we are closer to an agreement on the hostages than we have been since the January (ceasefire) agreement,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a speech on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Euronews that the “onus was on Hamas” to accept the US-backed agreement.
Under the agreement, unveiled by Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump last week, Hamas would immediately release the 48 hostages still held captive in the Gaza Strip.
Families of the hostages gathered at Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, with some of them urging Trump to exert pressure: “We cannot allow such a historic agreement to be sacrificed again,” said Michel Ilouz, father of Guy Ilouz, a 26-year-old man who was kidnapped by Hamas while trying to escape the Supernova music festival on October 7, 2023.
Udi Goren, cousin of hostage Tal Haimi, addressed Trump, saying that this “is the most crucial moment of all”: “The proposal is clear: all hostages must be released within the first 72 hours,” Goren said in a speech published in X.
Under the proposed agreement, Hamas would also relinquish power in Gaza and hand over its weapons. In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw its soldiers, release Palestinian prisoners, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
“On the Brink of the Abyss”
Palestinians have also expressed hope that a ceasefire agreement will be announced. On Friday, Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after saying Hamas had accepted some elements of his peace plan.
Despite the order, residents and local hospitals say attacks have continued throughout the territory.
“While some bombing has stopped inside the Gaza Strip, there is no ceasefire in effect at this time,” Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian told reporters.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian told reporters that Netanyahu is in “regular contact” with Trump and that the prime minister stressed that talks in Egypt “will be limited to a few days at most, with no tolerance for maneuvers that delay Hamas’s talks.”
At least eight people were killed on Sunday in multiple attacks in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the victims.
“We are on the brink of an abyss and we don’t know if someone will die in an attack or from starvation,” says Mahmoud Hashem, a Palestinian father sheltering in a tent in Gaza City.
“What we really hope is that the ceasefire plan can be reestablished so we can return to a normal life after two years of war. Unfortunately, today we are once again witnessing multiple casualties,” says a Gaza resident.
Hamas has said it has accepted some elements of the plan, while Israel has announced its support for the new US effort. Both are prepared to hold indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday.
The discussions will focus on the proposed exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.
If Hamas refuses to accept the agreement in its entirety, Netanyahu said, the US will fully support Israel in its efforts to end the war militarily.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the current situation is “the closest we’ve come to securing the release of all the hostages.” But he warned that “there are many opportunities here for anyone who wants to sabotage the process.”
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