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What are Hamas’s Changes to the U.S. Ceasefire Proposal?
Hamas Chairman Ismail Haniyeh (Photo: Hamas)
i24 News – Hamas says its requested changes to the U.S. ceasefire proposal are minimal, as the U.S. ups the pressure on the terrorist organization to accept the deal on the table or else be blamed for a situation of a stalemate.
In an interview with Reuters, a Hamas leader called the amendments to the ceasefire plan “not significant,” which appear to be similar to issues raised in previous rounds of negotiations.
The demands include having three “interconnected and continuous phases” of the ceasefire, including a complete IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip within the first phase.
The Hamas leader also told Reuters that they demand to be the ones to choose the list of one hundred Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences for terrorism crimes who would be released from Israeli jail. In addition, the Hamas leader says the Israeli blockade on Gaza would have to be lifted and allow the free movement of people and goods into the enclave.
The demands were echoed by Taher Al-Nono, the media advisor to Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone, Al-Nono emphasized the importance of having three continuous phases to the ceasefire deal in order to prevent Israel from resuming its strikes on Gaza. Al-Nono said the IDF would have to withdraw from the Philadelphi axis and the Rafah crossing as part of the agreement.
Haniyeh’s advisor also revealed that Hamas had requested additional guarantors be added to the deal, such as Turkey, Russia, China and the UN. Al-Nono addressed the reports that the U.S. was attempting to strike a unilateral hostage release deal to free five captives who hold American citizenship, which Al-Nono denied. He told Al Jazeera, “We have not received anything official from the American government.”
Another source also told the Saudi A-Sharq channel on Wednesday night about the same proposed amendments. The source said that they would expect the IDF to withdraw from densely populated areas and the Philadelphi axis and Rafah crossing by the end of the first week of the deal’s implementation. The source added that a permanent ceasefire would have to be declared at the end of the first stage of the agreement.
One of the biggest hurdles to closing a deal has been Israel’s reluctance to transition from a temporary to a permanent ceasefire between the first and second phases, hence Hamas’s insistence on making the stages interconnected and continuous. Israel maintains that it will not end the war until all of its objectives have been met, including the full dismantling of Hamas’s political and military wings.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that Israel is standing behind the current ceasefire proposal, and the current goal is to bridge the gaps with Hamas. Speaking at the G7 summit being held in Italy, Sullivan said that the world needs to encourage Hamas to agree to the ceasefire proposal in order to avoid a stalemate. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also confirmed Israel’s readiness to accept the current proposal and put the blame on Hamas for standing in the way of reaching an immediate end to the hostilities in Gaza.
The post What are Hamas’s Changes to the U.S. Ceasefire Proposal? 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.