Hamas may drop key demands in push for Gaza ceasefire - report

Some leaders in Hamas are considering a Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal, in which the IDF would remain temporarily in the Philadelphi Corridor in the Gaza Strip, the New York Times reported on Thursday. 

According to the Times, Palestinian and US officials believed that Hamas’ political leadership was ready to make a deal after the elimination of Yahya Sinwar last month.

Because of this belief that Sinwar was the primary obstacle to a deal, the Hostage Families Forum released a statement Thursday evening calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “The time is ripe for a deal. A one-shot deal to return all the hostages home.”

The Times noted that Iran also seems keen on avoiding another direct round with Israel, particularly after its air defense systems were significantly damaged in the Israeli strike in October and given the more recent victory of President-elect Donald Trump.

After over a year of war, Hamas reportedly no longer has total control over Gaza, with more and more Gazans turning on the group, blaming them for provoking Israel with the October 7 massacre.

Hamas wants to end 'aggresion' on Gaza

Shortly after the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday morning, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group "appreciates" Lebanon's right to reach an agreement that protects its people, and it hopes for a deal to end the war in Gaza.

"Hamas appreciates the right of Lebanon and Hezbollah to reach an agreement that protects the people of Lebanon, and we hope that this agreement will pave the way to reaching an agreement that ends the war of genocide against our people in Gaza," Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

While some anonymous American officials told the Times that Hamas might drop its demands and move forward on a ceasefire agreement acceptable to Israel’s government, Israel did not appear to be interested in concessions.

"We are committed to cooperating with any effort to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, and we are interested in ending the aggression against our people," Hamas said to Reuters.

“We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners,” an additional Hamas official told AFP.

According to the Times’ sources, the current main point of contention revolves around the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and what role Hamas will play in the Strip.

“There will ultimately need to be elections,”  Salah al-Din al-Awawdeh, a member of Hamas, told the Times.

“There are different factions and balances of power. All this makes it hard to predict.”

President-elect Trump

Additionally, the Times noted that Netanyahu may be waiting for Trump to take office before shifting his position on talks with Hamas.

Although Trump has pushed for Israel to “finish up” the war in Gaza, experts believe he is unlikely to apply pressure by threatening to withhold military aid.