RSS
Blinken: Hamas Rejects Egyptian Ceasefire Proposal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from an aircraft as he arrives in Israel, as the push for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel continues, in Tel Aviv, March 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
JNS.org — The Hamas terrorist group in Gaza has rejected an Egyptian proposal for a short-term ceasefire in exchange for the release of four Israeli hostages, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Speaking with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Monday, Blinken said, “Hamas has once again refused to release even a limited number of hostages to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” according to a State Department readout of the call.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had put forward a 12-day proposal at the end of October that would have started with a 48-hour ceasefire followed by Hamas releasing four captives over the next 10 days, two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel on Monday.
The abductees would have fallen under the humanitarian category, which includes women, the elderly, and the sick.
In exchange, Jerusalem was to have released around 100 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails.
Over the 12-day period, Israel and Hamas were to have held indirect talks on extending the ceasefire.
Another proposal from Doha last week reportedly involved the release of 11 hostages in exchange for a one-month ceasefire, with priority given to living female captives.
During talks in Doha at the end of last month, CIA Director Bill Burns reportedly proposed a 28-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for Hamas releasing eight hostages and Israel freeing dozens of Palestinian prisoners.
Mossad Director David Barnea told relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in a recent meeting that the prospects for even a small agreement with the terrorist group are low, as Hamas has not changed its demands from July that include an end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israel troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Jerusalem will not agree to end the war against Hamas.
Fifty-one out of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are alive, according to the latest Israeli intelligence assessments.
The premier on Monday presented a new proposal that would see Israel pay millions of dollars for each hostage in exchange for safe passage abroad for the captors and their families, Channel 12 reported on Monday.
Netanyahu previewed this type of proposal in a statement following the killing of Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Oct. 16.
“To the Hamas terrorists, I say — your leaders are fleeing and will be eliminated. I call on anyone holding our hostages: lay down your weapons and return our hostages, and we will allow you to leave and live. At the same time, I say that anyone who harms our hostages will pay with his life, and we will settle accounts with him.”
The post Blinken: Hamas Rejects Egyptian Ceasefire Proposal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.