Hamas wants to alter the proposed truce in Gaza, but the US ambassador deems it "unacceptable."
On Saturday, May 31, 2025, a protester performs during a demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, calling for the end of the war and the prompt release of captives held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.AP/Ariel Schalit
A senior Hamas official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the organization is looking to change the most recent U.S. ceasefire plan for Gaza, but U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff referred to the Hamas answer as "absolutely unacceptable."
Negotiations have recently been more tense as the conflict approaches its 20th month and hunger among Palestinians and hostage-takers in Gaza increases.
Due to the delicate nature of the negotiations, the Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity and stated that the suggested revisions were centered on "the U.S. guarantees, the timing of captive release, the delivery of aid and the evacuation of Israeli forces." No specifics were provided.
According to a different Hamas statement, the plan calls for an assured supply of supplies, a permanent ceasefire, and a full Israeli pullout from Gaza. According to the statement, the remains of 18 hostages and 10 living hostages would be freed "in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian inmates." Israel says 35 captives are killed, leaving fifty-eight hostages.
Instead, Witkoff posted on social media about a 60-day ceasefire agreement that would return half of the dead captives and free half of the remaining hostages in Gaza. He suggested that negotiations may start next week and asked Hamas to embrace the framework plan as the starting point.
The U.S. proposal for a short-term truce has been accepted by Israeli leaders. Negotiators were close to reaching an agreement, according to U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, Israel has a "total prejudice toward the other side" that he claims goes against the impartiality of mediation and disagrees with the terms that have been agreed upon.
"We want the violence to stop," Motasim, a resident of the central Gaza refugee camp of Al-Bureij, said of the negotiations. "We are exhausted, I swear to God."
Inside Gaza, desperation is growing.
As hunger worsens during Israel's months-long siege of Gaza, the U.N. World supply Program said that Palestinians in the region obstructed and offloaded 77 supply trucks. The aid, primarily flour, was seized before the vehicles could get to their destination, according to the WFP.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, a witness in the southern city of Khan Younis told the AP that thousands of desperate villagers stopped the U.N. convoy at an improvised roadblock and offloaded it.
The more than two million people living in Gaza are on the verge of starvation as a result of the nearly three-month embargo. Even while Israel recently permitted some aid to enter, relief organizations claim that not nearly enough is entering.
Over the previous week, 579 trucks of relief have entered Gaza, according to COGAT, Israel's military organization responsible for coordinating help in the territory. According to the U.N., Israel interrupted the previous truce with fresh shelling, and 600 people per day were entering.
