‘Totally unacceptable’: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff rejects Hamas response to US ceasefire proposal

Hours after Hamas said it has submitted its response on a ceasefire proposal presented by US to mediators, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff slammed the Palestinian group terming the response as “totally unacceptable and only takes us backward”.

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” Witkoff said. “That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days — one in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families, and where substantive negotiations in good faith can take place to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”

Hamas in the response said that under the latest deal, it would release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel — a shift from the US proposal that could complicate Israel’s ability to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire are not concluded by the end of the truce, as per The Guardian.

Unlike the US-backed plan, which proposed freeing hostages in two batches on the first and seventh days of a 60-day truce, the updated Hamas offer spreads the releases over the entire duration of the ceasefire.

The revised terms also include a demand for a permanent end to the war — a condition that has long been a red line for Israel.

Israel, meanwhile, said it had agreed to the revised outline proposed by Witkoff, but accused Hamas of continuing to resist. “While Israel has agreed to the updated Witkoff outline for the release of our hostages, Hamas continues to adhere to its refusal,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. “Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”