Hamas says it has not received Trump plan as Israel expands Gaza City assault
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Smoke rising during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City on Sept 27.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CAIRO – Hamas has not received US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, the Palestinian group which runs the enclave said on Sept 27 as Israeli forces expanded their assault on Gaza City.
The comments came after Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited sources as saying that Hamas had agreed in principle to release all the Israeli hostages it holds in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops under Mr Trump’s plan.
Also included in the proposal were the end of Hamas rule in Gaza, and Israel agreeing not to annex the territory and drive out Palestinians living there, Haaretz reported.
“Hamas has not been presented with any plan,” a Hamas official who asked not to be named told Reuters.
In his comments to reporters on Sept 26 in which he said “it’s looking like we have a deal on Gaza”, Mr Trump offered no details of its contents and gave no timetable. Israel has not yet made any public response to Mr Trump’s comments.
Trump due to meet Netanyahu
Mr Trump is due on Sept 29 to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads a hard-right governing coalition opposed to ending the Gaza war until Hamas is destroyed.
Mr Trump also said on Sept 26 that talks on Gaza with Middle Eastern nations were intense and would continue
His special envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, said the US President had presented proposals to the leaders of Muslim-majority countries this week that included a 21-point Middle East peace plan.
In Gaza, meanwhile, the fighting continued.
The Israeli military said its aircraft struck 120 targets across the strip over the past day as troops pressed deeper into Gaza City. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 74 people were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours.
In a post on social media platform X, the military’s Arabic spokesman repeated calls for Gaza City residents to evacuate.
The UN World Food Programme estimates that some 350,000 to 400,000 Palestinians have left since Israel began its expanded ground offensive in Gaza City a couple of weeks ago, but hundreds of thousands remain.
Medical facilities closed
Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) said late on Sept 26 it had been forced to suspend its medical activities in Gaza City because its clinics were encircled by Israeli forces.
The group said the move was the “last thing” it wanted, saying that vulnerable people, such as infants in neonatal care and people with life-threatening illnesses, are unable to move and are in grave danger.
Four health facilities in Gaza City have shut down so far in September, according to the World Health Organization, and the UN says some malnutrition centres have also closed.
Israel began its assault on Gaza nearly two years ago after an attack led by Hamas
Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in the enclave, according to Gaza’s health authorities, displaced the entire population, and crippled the territory’s health system.
A global hunger monitor says famine has taken hold in parts of Gaza, while multiple rights experts say Israel’s conduct in the war amounts to genocide.
Israel strongly denies this, saying the war is in self-defence. REUTERS
