Hamas changed ceasefire agreement to count dead hostages: report

World News

Israel-Hamas war

From Ronny Reyes

A shocking report says Hamas changed the wording of the ceasefire agreement it accepted on Monday and counted the bodies of dead hostages as part of a planned swap for Palestinian prisoners.

The agreement signed by Hamas also included an end to the war in Gaza – something the Israeli side said it would not accept.

But one of the biggest changes reportedly came in the language surrounding the 33 Israeli hostages who were to be released in exchange for a ceasefire.

While the original agreement called for 33 live hostages, Hamas changed the wording to say 33 hostages were “alive or dead,” officials told public broadcaster KAN TV.

Israeli officials described the proposal as significantly different from what Israel had originally promised to agree to.

Hamas has repeatedly warned that it does not have enough hostages to meet Israel’s demands for the release of hostages who were women, the elderly or people with illnesses and health problems.

The Hamas deal also included language calling for an end to the nearly seven-month-long war, contradicting Israel’s hardened stance, a senior American official told CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly stated that the war will not end until Hamas is eliminated, vowed to reject Hamas’ offer.

Despite Netanyahu’s plans, his Israel office is still sending a negotiating team to Cairo “to explore the possibility of reaching an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel.”

The agreement called for an initial 42-day ceasefire to free the hostages, a partial withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza, and the return of the more than 1 million refugees in Rafah to the central and northern Gaza Strip.

Follow the Post’s coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas

The next phase called for another six-week ceasefire to establish peace in the Palestinian enclave and continue negotiations and hostage exchange.

The final phase of the Hamas deal would see the final hostage exchanges come to an end and the reconstruction of Gaza begin through a plan overseen by Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations.

Hamas also called for a complete end to the blockade around the Gaza Strip that has been in place since the terror group came to power in 2007.

While acknowledging that there are “significant gaps” between Hamas and Israel, Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz said Israel was still working to “turn over every stone” to secure the hostages.

While the deal contains items that are not relevant to Israel, U.S. and U.N. officials have called on the Jewish state and Hamas to stay at the negotiating table and negotiate a real deal to prevent further bloodshed in Gaza.

After Israel’s rejection of the Hamas deal, the IDF began its advance toward Rafah despite U.S. opposition.

President Biden has repeatedly warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to continue the Rafah offensive unless the IDF can ensure the safety of civilians, with the president repeating this on a call earlier Monday.

With post wires.