Inside Hamas’ new demands
Hamas’ new demands in response to the latest cease-fire proposal include an insistence that the timetable be moved up for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Gazan territory, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations.
The official also said that Hamas communicated additional demands for assurances that a lasting cease-fire would be achieved that were not included in the previous version of the agreement.
In the first days of May, Hamas seemingly accepted a hostage deal presented by Qatar and Egypt, only for Israel to say it had not signed off on that draft, sparking mass confusion. Later, Israel did say it would return to the negotiating table, which eventually led to the formation of the proposal on the table.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford