The Wall Street Journal, citing Egyptian sources, reported that Hamas has turned down an Israeli proposal for a one-week ceasefire. This proposal was contingent upon the release of 40 hostages.

Hamas’s stance, as mentioned in the report, is that they will not engage in discussions about releasing Israeli hostages until a ceasefire is effectively in place.

The Israeli proposal that was rejected by Hamas included releasing 40 hostages, encompassing all women and children taken from Israel during the attack on October 7, as well as elderly male hostages in urgent need of medical care.

In exchange, the IDF would have suspended their ground and aerial operations in Gaza for the duration of one week and permitted additional humanitarian aid into Gaza, as per the Egyptian officials.

Additionally, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden both acknowledged on Wednesday that there is currently no agreement between Israel and Hamas. Blinken expressed a desire to see such a development occur.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)