Hamas has rejected a reported US proposal offering the group’s military leadership safe relocation outside Gaza in exchange for financial incentives, reported Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Arabic-language edition of The New Arab, citing Egyptian sources.
The group, however, agreed to a new truce proposal that would see a temporary halt in fighting during the upcoming Islamic and Jewish holidays, the report added.
The proposal would allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and pave the way for a second phase of stalled negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire.
As part of the deal, Hamas agreed to release US-Israeli dual national and soldier Edan Alexander, along with four other captives – some of whom are reportedly still alive.
The sources said the ball was now in the court of the Israeli government and its US backers.
Hamas rejects US relocation offer for military leaders
Meanwhile, Hamas has rejected a separate offer from Washington which reportedly included the relocation of the group’s military leadership out of Gaza in exchange for immunity, financial incentives, and safe foreign residences.
The proposal, according to the report, included nearly $2 billion in funds to be distributed among top leaders of Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, based on their ranks.
Key figures named in the plan included Mohammad al-Sinwar, brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya al-Sinwar, as well as commanders Mohammed Shabaneh (Rafah Brigade) and Ezzedine al-Haddad (Gaza Brigade).
The offer also reportedly involved a financial valuation of Hamas’ weapons in exchange for disarmament.
Hamas rejected the proposal, viewing it as a de facto surrender after Israel’s failure to defeat the group militarily.
According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the rejection came from Al-Qassam Brigades’s military council and its field commanders, who reiterated demands for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a comprehensive ceasefire extending to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
In Gaza, Hamas has also allowed recent public protests to continue without interference, despite internal suggestions to suppress them.
A senior Hamas figure said the group decided to let demonstrators “express themselves freely”, warning security forces not to intervene.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s media office expressed hope that a temporary administrative body for Gaza would be formed soon, in line with an Egyptian proposal supported by the Arab League.
It emphasised that existing institutions were operating strictly in a service capacity, without political objectives, to maintain basic functions under the ongoing Israeli onslaught.
The office also reaffirmed support for the pan-Arab and Islamic reconstruction plan adopted at the 4 March emergency summit in Cairo, which calls for a six-month interim administration made up of independent technocrats operating under the umbrella of the Palestinian government.
Also on Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry announced that 921 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on 18 March.
According to the ministry’s statement, the figure includes 25 people killed in the past 24 hours. It also reported that the overall death toll had reached 50,277 since the war began in October 2023.
