Hamas has rejected the latest Israeli proposal for a hostage deal, according to a report Tuesday evening (Tues) by the BBC, citing a Palestinian source. The offer reportedly included a six-week temporary ceasefire, the release of some of the hostages, and a demand for Hamas to disarm.
A senior Palestinian official told the BBC that the Israeli proposal did not include any commitment to ending the war or withdrawing IDF troops from Gaza—key conditions set by Hamas. The offer included the release of approximately half of the living hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli offer was passed to Hamas through Egypt,” the source said. “It explicitly demanded that Hamas disarm—without any Israeli commitment to end the war. Hamas fully rejected the proposal.”
Military Pressure in Gaza Continues
Meanwhile, military operations in Gaza are ongoing. Earlier today, the IDF Spokesperson announced that, for the fifth time since the start of the war, IDF and Shin Bet eliminated the commander of Hamas’s Shuja’iyya battalion.
The militant Mohammad al-’Ajla had recently replaced the previous battalion commander, Haitham Razak Abd al-Karim Sheikh Khalil, who was killed just last week.
During the war, al-’Ajla had served as a combat support platoon commander in the Shuja’iyya battalion. He was responsible for providing weapons to battalion militants for carrying out terror attacks against Israeli forces and civilians.
Al-’Ajla is the fifth Hamas battalion commander to be eliminated since the beginning of the war, and the third since the start of Operation “Oz V’Herev” (Strength and Sword). The IDF stated that measures were taken to minimize civilian harm, including advance warnings, use of precision munitions, and aerial surveillance prior to the strike.
