Hamas Confirms Deal with US Envoy for Ceasefire and Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza
Prisoner exchange and aid flow part of the proposed agreement
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Hamas has announced in a statement that it has reached an agreement with US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, aimed at ending the genocide in Gaza.
The statement confirmed that the resistance group reached an understanding with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steven Witkoff on a framework for a permanent ceasefire.
“Hamas affirms that it is making significant efforts to stop the brutal war on the Gaza Strip”, Hamas stated on its channel on Telegram. “The latest of these efforts is reaching a general framework agreement with US envoy Steven Witkoff that aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid, and the establishment of a professional committee to manage Gaza’s affairs once the agreement is officially announced.”
“The agreement includes the release of ten Israeli prisoners and several bodies, in exchange for the release of an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, under the guarantee of international mediators. Hamas is now waiting for a final response to this framework”, it added.
The statement comes two days after Hamas had already announced its acceptance of the deal through its Al-Aqsa TV channel. However, confusion followed when US envoy Steven Witkoff publicly claimed the opposite, stating that Hamas had rejected the proposal while Israel had accepted it.
A Hamas official told Al Jazeera that the group had accepted the American proposal in full and that it was now up to the mediators and the US to ensure its implementation.
Hamas’s statement on Wednesday reiterated that it has made “great efforts” to stop the “barbaric war” on Gaza, and that it had cooperated with mediators to reach a deal that could end the fighting and ease the suffering of civilians.
If the agreement is finalized and implemented, it would mark the first long-term ceasefire in Gaza since the genocide began in October 2023. Twenty months of Israeli attacks and blockade have left tens of thousands dead or wounded and pushed Gaza into a deep humanitarian crisis.
The international community continues to call for an end to the genocide and for unhindered access to aid.
