Hamas seeks amendments to Gaza ceasefire proposal but US envoy calls it ‘unacceptable’

TEL AVIV Israel AP Hamas is seeking amendments to the latest U S ceasefire proposal for Gaza a senior official with the group recounted The Associated Press on Saturday but U S envoy Steve Witkoff called the Hamas response totally unacceptable The latest friction in negotiations comes as the fighting nears months of war and as desperation grows among hungry Palestinians and relatives of hostages in Gaza The Hamas official speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks explained proposed amendments focused on the U S guarantees the timing of hostage release the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces There were no details A separate Hamas comment revealed the proposal aims for a permanent ceasefire a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an ensured flow of aid It mentioned living hostages and the bodies of others would be issued in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners Fifty-eight hostages remain and Israel believes are dead Witkoff on social media instead described a -day ceasefire deal that would free half the living hostages in Gaza and return half of those who have died He urged Hamas to accept the framework proposal as the basis for talks that he explained could begin next week Israeli representatives have approved the U S proposal for a temporary ceasefire U S President Donald Trump has reported negotiators were nearing a deal A top Hamas official Bassem Naim accused Israel of disagreeing with agreed-upon provisions and alleged a complete bias toward the other side that he declared violates the fairness of mediation We want the bloodshed to stop Motasim a man from the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza reported of the talks I swear to God we are tired Desperation rises inside Gaza Palestinians in Gaza blocked and offloaded food trucks the U N World Food Effort disclosed as hunger mounts following Israel s monthslong blockade of the territory The WFP noted the aid mostly flour was taken before the trucks could reach their destination A witness in the southern city of Khan Younis speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal stated the AP the U N convoy was stopped at a makeshift roadblock and offloaded by desperate civilians in their thousands The nearly three-month blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of over million to the brink of famine While Israel allowed specific aid to enter in fresh days aid organizations say far from enough is getting in Israel s military body in charge of aid coordination in Gaza COGAT announced trucks of aid had entered over the past week The U N has stated per day were entering under the previous ceasefire that Israel ended with new bombardment The WFP commented the fear of starvation in Gaza is high We need to flood communities with food for the next limited days to calm anxieties it mentioned in a report It added that it has over metric tons of food enough to feed Gazans for two months ready to be brought in The United Nations commented earlier this month that Israeli agents have forced them to use unsecured routes within areas controlled by Israel s military in the eastern areas of Rafah and Khan Younis where armed gangs are current and trucks were stopped Attacks gangs and lack of protection hamper UN distribution An internal document shared with aid groups about guard incidents seen by the AP declared there were four incidents of facilities being looted in three days at the end of May not including Saturday s The U N says it has been unable to get enough aid in because of fighting A new U S- and Israeli-backed foundation started operations in Gaza this week distributing food at several sites in a chaotic rollout Israel says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation eventually will replace the aid operation by the U N and others It says the new mechanism is necessary accusing Hamas of siphoning off large amounts of aid The U N denies that vital diversion takes place The GHF works with armed contractors which it says are needed to distribute food safely Aid groups have accused the foundation of militarizing aid The GHF commented it distributed truckloads of food on Saturday and called it their largest distribution so far Israeli strikes kill at least Israel continued its military campaign across Gaza saying it struck dozens of targets over the past day Gaza s Soundness Ministry declared at least people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past hours The ministry noted three people were killed by Israeli gunfire early Saturday in Rafah Three others were killed parents and a child when their car was struck in Gaza City An Israeli strike hit another car in Gaza City killing four And an Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis killing six revealed Weam Fares a spokesperson for Nasser Hospital Israel s military reported several projectiles from Gaza fell in open areas The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct killing around people bulk of them civilians and taking hostages Israeli strikes have killed more than Gaza residents mostly women and children according to Gaza s Soundness Ministry which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally A group of hostages relatives again pleaded for a comprehensive ceasefire deal that would free everyone at once saying the remaining hostages will not survive continued military pressure