Cairo

Hamas and its allied Islamic Jihad have refused to accept the Egyptian proposal to renounce power in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, news agency Reuters quoted two Egyptian security sources as saying on Monday.

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Reportedly both the groups rejected delivering any other settlements beyond the potential release of more hostages seized on Oct 7 when militants broke into southern Israel, claiming the lives of 1,200 people.

Earlier, Egypt had proposed a plan, which is dubbed as "vision", that would involve a ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages further leading to a broader agreement involving a permanent ceasefire along with an overhaul of leadership in Gaza, which is at present led by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The proposal was also backed by Qatari mediators.

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As per Reuters, a Hamas official recently visited Cairo and declined to directly comment on specific offers of more temporary humanitarian truces and indicated the group's rejection by reiterating its official stance on the matter.

"Hamas seeks to end the Israeli aggression against our people, the massacres and genocide, and we discussed with our Egyptian brothers the ways to do that," the official told Reuters.

"We also said that the aid for our people must keep going and must increase and it must reach all the population in the north and the south," the official added.

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Also read: Yahya Sinwar releases first public message since Oct 7, says Hamas facing ‘unprecedented battle’

"After the aggression is stopped and the aid increased we are ready to discuss prisoner swaps," he further said. 

Egypt-led efforts to bring peace in Gaza 

Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh returned to Qatar on Saturday (Dec 23) after a four-day visit to Cairo to discuss the Egyptian proposal with the Hamas political bureau. On Sunday, a delegation of the Islamic Jihad arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials.

The Israel-Hamas war entered Day 79 on Christmas Eve of 2023. The war which began on October 7 when the Palestinian armed groups attacked southern Israel and killed about 1,200 Israelis, has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as Israel's retaliatory attacks have killed over 20,000 Palestinians so far.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.