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Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Deal, Says ‘No Hostage Will Be Released Until Israel Ends War’ as Families Decry Sexual Violence Against Captives
Orange balloons fill the skies above Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Thursday as hundreds gathered to mark the grim milestone of the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, who is a hostage in Hamas captivity. Wednesday, January 17, 2024. (Photo: Debbie Weiss)
Hamas is said to have rejected a deal for a two-month ceasefire in which the hostages would be freed in exchange for the release of Palestinians security prisoners, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing a senior Egyptian official.
The unnamed official said Hamas had “rejected the proposal and is insisting that no more hostages will be released until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza,” the report said.
Egypt and Qatar are currently crafting a phased proposal to reconcile the sticking points, the official said.
The news poses a devastating blow to the families of the hostages, who have ramped up efforts in recent days urging Israeli officials to secure a deal with Hamas.
136 hostages remain in Gaza, including two babies, but the IDF has confirmed the deaths of 28 of those. More than 250 people were abducted to Gaza during Hamas’ assault on October 7, during which more than 1200 people were murdered.
On Sunday evening, relatives of the hostages barricaded themselves across from the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem. The following day, family members disrupted a meeting of the Knesset’s Finance Committee, holding signs with the message, “You will not sit here while they die there.”
In a Knesset lobby for victims of sexual violence on Tuesday morning, former hostages provided testimony about the abuse endured during captivity.
Shani Yerushalmi, the sister of Eden Yerushalmi who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, called on the Israeli government to take action now because “time was of the essence for all the hostages.”
“Does it not bother the prime minister and the cabinet that they will return pregnant and past the point of being able to terminate the pregnancy?” Yerushalmi said.
Aviva Siegel, who was released after 51 days in captivity, said Hamas terrorists had turned the hostages in the Gaza Strip into “dolls with whom they could do what they wanted, when they wanted.”
“The terrorists bring inappropriate clothes, clothes for dolls and turn the girls into their dolls,” she added. “There wasn’t a minute that we didn’t experience abuse – and they are still there. It’s beyond comprehension.”
She added that the male hostages were similarly treated like “puppets.”
Siegel’s daughter, Shir, said her mother’s testimony was “only the tip of the iceberg.” Her father and Siegel’s husband, Keith, is still in Hamas captivity.
Shiri Elbag, the mother of hostage Liri Elbag, acknowledged that Siegel and the other released hostages were only saying a “fraction of what transpired there because they want to protect us.”
Elbag went on to say that she tries not to think about a scenario in which her daughter and others might be pregnant.
A day earlier, Elbag returned from a visit to London where she met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
The parents of another hostage, Daniela Gilboa, also traveled to London.
Sunak said he rejected “any attempt to draw an equivalence between Israel’s actions and those of the terrorists.”
“There is a horrific irony in Israel, of all countries being accused of genocide. Under my leadership, this country will always stand by the right of our friend and ally Israel to defend itself within the framework of international law. Am Yisroel chai,” he said.
Cameron denounced Hamas’ hostage-taking as “barbaric.”
“As a dad of children of a similar age, I can only imagine the turmoil they are going through. The UK is doing everything it can to ensure all the hostages, including the two British nationals, are released as soon as possible,” he said following his meeting with the parents.
The post Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Deal, Says ‘No Hostage Will Be Released Until Israel Ends War’ as Families Decry Sexual Violence Against Captives first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.”
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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.
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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.