Hamas “must understand that it has to accept the Witkoff outline,” a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Sunday, referring to the latest hostage release and ceasefire proposal presented by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Now the IDF is attacking, supplies are distributed differently, the US is pressing,” the official said. “And we will be prepared for negotiations when Hamas comes to terms with reality.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said that “regardless of any negotiations,” he instructed the Israel Defense Forces “to continue forward in Gaza” and achieve all objectives.
Katz added that he also ordered the IDF to use all capabilities to protect troops and eliminate Hamas.
On Saturday, Hamas responded to Witkoff’s latest proposal with amendments and demands, leading the mediator to blast the stance as one that is “totally unacceptable and only takes us backward.”
In a statement, Hamas said it seeks a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — demands the Israeli government has largely rejected at this stage — and a guaranteed continued flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
A source directly involved in the negotiations told The Times of Israel that Hamas’s response included a demand that would make it more difficult for Israel to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire are not completed by the end of the 60-day truce. The updated proposal submitted by Hamas envisions the release of the 10 hostages being spread out more throughout the 60-day truce, rather than in two batches on the first and seventh day, as the US offer envisioned.
The source said this change was aimed at preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from abandoning talks on a permanent ceasefire after the 10 hostages are released or refusing to engage in the talks altogether, as he did during the previous ceasefire in January.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Hamas had also requested a ceasefire lasting up to seven years.
The Witkoff proposal stipulates that the parties would have to reach an agreement on the parameters of Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza during the 60-day truce. It also provides for further negotiations during the truce on a potential settlement to end the war.
According to a copy of Witkoff’s latest proposal, the authenticity of which was confirmed to The Times of Israel by two sources familiar with the negotiations, Hamas would release 10 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and return the bodies of 18 deceased hostages during the 60-day ceasefire.
In return, Israel would release 125 Palestinian terror convicts serving life sentences, 1,111 Gazans detained since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, and 180 bodies of Palestinians currently held by Israel.
The IDF would also pull back from some areas where troops are currently deployed; the parameters of the pullback would be finalized “during proximity negotiations.”
There are currently 58 hostages held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 hostages who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said.
Also Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with the families of hostages who were killed or murdered in Hamas captivity.
“We are currently operating in areas where the terrorists set out from [during the October 7 onslaught]. We will operate to defeat Hamas and do everything so it doesn’t happen again,” Zamir said during the meeting, in remarks published by the IDF.
“Returning the hostages is before my eyes and before the eyes of all the IDF soldiers all the time, this is a top priority task, an exalted and essential goal,” he continued.
Zamir added that IDF operations in Gaza are being carried out “in full coordination with [military’s] Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters [unit]. We will continue to act to return the hostages and collapse Hamas’s rule.”
The meeting was held at the request of hostage families after Israel decided to expand its offensive in Gaza in March, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
In attendance were Merav Svirsky, sister of the late Itay Svirsky; Esther Buchshtab, mother of the late Yagev Buchshtab; Jon Polin, father of the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin; Katya Beizer, mother of the late Nik Beizer; and Re’ut Even Tov, relative of the late Chaim Peri.
“We stressed that in our view, the only way to bring them back is through an agreement, even at the cost of ending the war. We wanted to speak out on behalf of those who are in Gaza. It is unbearable to think that someone else will have to pay such a price — whether facing death or disappearing forever,” a statement from the participants said.
“We sought to emphasize again that the war objectives presented to us by the political leadership are conflicting and contradictory. We asked the Chief of Staff and IDF commanders to continue clearly conveying to the political leadership the mortal danger facing the hostages as a result of military attacks.”
Of the 206 hostages who were abducted alive by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, to Gaza, 37 died in the Strip. The IDF’s own investigations have shown that some of the hostages were killed by direct Israeli actions, while others were killed after the IDF struck or approached their area or during botched rescue missions.