‘Ready for ceasefire, but Israel must respect proposal’, says Hamas

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said US-President elect Donald Trump should put “pressure” on Israel to end its aggression in the Gaza Strip.

A senior Hamas official has expressed the militant group's willingness for a ceasefire deal with Israel in the Gaza Strip and urged US President-elect Donald Trump to “pressure” Israel over the Jewish state's ongoing military operations in the Palestinian territory.

TOPSHOT - Children stare at the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

“Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if a proposal is presented and on the condition that the proposal is respected by Israel,” Bassem Naim, a Hamas political bureau member based in Qatar's capital Doha, told AFP.

“We also call on the US administration and Donald Trump to pressure the Israeli government to end the aggression,” he added.

The statement from Naim comes days after Qatar, home to several members of the political bureau of the Palestinian group, declared it was “suspending” its role as a mediator towards a ceasefire until both Hamas and Israel showed “willingness and seriousness” to end the conflict.

“Qatar would resume those efforts…when the parties show their willingness and seriousness,” Majed Al Ansari, the spokesperson of the foreign ministry in Doha, had said in a statement.

The Gaza war erupted with Hamas' coordinated attacks on Israel on October 7 last year. The attacks resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to the Israeli government. Additionally, the militants abducted 251 hostages, including 97 still being held captive in Gaza. As many as 34 of these 97 hostages are dead, as per the Israeli military.

The Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) retaliatory campaign has killed 43,764 people in Hamas-run Gaza, most of them civilians.