NUSEIRAT: Witnesses reported heavy Israeli bombardment striking Gaza City on Wednesday as Hamas reviewed US President Donald Trump’s proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.
Trump previously issued Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” to accept his plan, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports and includes a ceasefire, hostage release within 72 hours, Hamas disarmament, and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
World powers including Arab and Muslim nations have welcomed the proposal that also establishes a post-war transitional authority for Gaza headed by Trump himself.
A Palestinian source close to Hamas told AFP on Wednesday that “no final decision” had been reached and that “the movement will likely need two to three days” for consideration.
The source indicated that Hamas seeks amendments to certain items including the disarmament clause and potential expulsion of Hamas members from the territory.
They added that Hamas communicated to mediators the “need to provide international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and guarantees that Israel will not violate a ceasefire through assassinations inside or outside Gaza”.
Trump’s proposal demands complete disarmament of Hamas militants and excludes them from future government roles while offering amnesty to those accepting “peaceful co-existence”.
The territory’s civil defence agency operating under Hamas authority reported Israeli strikes killed at least 13 people in Gaza City on Wednesday, including six in a strike on a school-turned-shelter and seven others in a family home.
The Israeli military told AFP it was investigating the reports when asked for comment.
Media restrictions in Gaza and access difficulties prevent AFP from independently verifying casualty figures and operational details provided by both the civil defence agency and Israeli military. “The explosions do not stop,“ said Rabah Al-Halabi, a 60-year-old man living in a tent at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital complex. “I will not leave because the situation in Gaza City is no different from the situation in the southern Gaza Strip,“ he told AFP, adding that “all areas are dangerous, the bombing is everywhere, and displacement is terrifying and humiliating”.
He concluded that “we are waiting for death, or perhaps relief from God and for the truce to come”.
The military announced it would close the last remaining route for southern Gaza residents to access the north on Wednesday. “Al-Rashid Street will be closed to traffic from the southern sector area at 12:00 (0900 GMT),“ stated the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee on X, noting that “movement southward will be allowed for those who were unable to evacuate Gaza City”.
Fadel Al-Jadba, a 26-year-old Gaza City resident, confirmed he would not leave despite the intensifying conflict.
He reported tanks positioned in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood and expressed that he “would not be surprised if they advance into Al-Rimal,“ where he currently shelters.
“We want a ceasefire at any cost because we are frustrated, exhausted, and find no one in the world standing with us,“ he told AFP.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Hamas had “about three or four days” to accept his 20-point Gaza plan, later warning the Islamist movement would “pay in hell” for refusal.
A source familiar with Doha negotiations told AFP that “two opinions exist within Hamas” regarding the proposal.
“The first supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan,“ the source explained.
“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses, rejecting disarmament and the expulsion of any Palestinian from Gaza,“ the source continued, noting they “favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands”.
The source concluded that “Hamas and the factions want an immediate ceasefire, but not at the cost of compromising core national principles”.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in 1,219 deaths according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures, with most victims being civilians.
Israel’s offensive has killed 66,097 Palestinians according to health ministry figures from the Hamas-run territory, with the United Nations considering these numbers reliable, and has left much of Gaza in ruins. – AFP
