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.

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